Gone
Mia is walking alone down the Slytherin corridor towards her best friend's dorm room. She is sick, distressed, or both as she slowly staggers along, holding the left side of her lower abdomen. Mia comes up to Pansy's door, knocks lightly, "Pansy, you have a moment?" Mia is trying to breathe through the pain in her abdomen, holding back tears. She hears Pansy and someone else shuffling and whispering on the other side of the door, "Sorry, Mia. I don't have the time right now." "Please, I really need to-to t-talk." Mia's voice is close to cracking. "Mia. I don't have the time." Pansy didn't even open her door. Mia turns and shuffles dejectedly away. "Don't have the time? Okay." She slowly makes her way back to her dorm room. Mia limps into her room favoring her left side. She closes and locks the door with her wand, as well as casting 'muffliato' so she will not be heard screaming out in pain.
Mia slumps down to the floor, leaning against her bed. She strips out of her robes, and her jumper, leaving just her uniform shirt and skirt. She untucks her shirt, pulls it up to expose her abdomen on her left side. Using her wand, she points it at her abdomen, and wordlessly cast 'Diffindo', making an incision about two inches long into her side. She cries out in pain as she cuts into her skin, "AAAAAHHHH!" The searing, burning pain is almost too much, she nearly passes out. Mia drops her wand to the floor next to her curled up legs. Beads of sweat dripping from her forehead, panting breaths, using her middle and forefinger of her left hand to pry the incision open. Silently screaming with her mouth closed, she then uses thumb and forefinger of her right hand, reaching into the incision. Both her hands, bottom of her shirt to the top of her skirt becoming soaked in blood, she pulls a red, dimly lit, pulsing disc from her abdomen.
Mia lifts the red disc close to her face as the pulsing light starts to flicker. "Please don't go out. Please don't go out. Please…" Her bottom lip quivering, tears streaking her face ruining what's left of her makeup from the day. *The pulsing light slows down and then goes out.* "No, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening. Marcus, please don't leave me. I need you." Mia is sobbing uncontrollably. She grasps the disc in both her shaky hands, raises them up and bows her head then tosses the disk to the floor next to her. Realizing she is still bleeding out, she grasps her wand with shaky hands from the floor and closes the wound. She feels so alone now. Her twin brother is gone, her friends don't care, and her boyfriend broke up with her for a girl in his own house. Making the sporadic decision to leave Hogwarts, she slowly gets up, barely able to stand and cleans herself up. Leaving behind the disc, her bloody clothes, and a puddle of blood in her room. Mia makes her way outside of the warded barrier at Hogwarts, and apparates to the only place she feels at peace. Mia was too distraught to care about whether or not she would splinch. She felt she needed to get away from all of the uncaring, unfriendly people of Hogwarts.
The Next Day
"Has anyone seen Mia?" Draco asked his friends. "I haven't seen her all day. She missed the classes she shares with me. What about you Pansy?" Theo looked to Pansy. "No, I didn't see her either," Pansy says. "I'm going to go check her room." Draco leaves the common room and heads to Mia's room. "Mia? *Knocks on her door.* Are you here?" Draco waits a moment before opening her door. He doesn't immediately notice anything out of place until he steps further into the room and sees the blood, bloody clothes and disc on the floor. 'What happened? Where is she?' Draco bends down to pick up the disc and her bloody clothes.
He rushes back to the common room, "Mia wasn't in her room. I think something happened to her. There's blood on her floor. And I found this." *He shows his friends the disc.* "It's covered in her blood." They all look at the disc and then her bloody clothes. Pansy gets a very guilty look on her face, "Bloody Hell! She came to my door last night wanting to talk, and I blew her off." She hangs her head in shame, finding her shoes very interesting. Draco is now very angry with Pansy, "More like you were too busy 'blowing' your fuck buddy. And now she's gone!" Draco takes a deep breath, runs his hand through his hair, "I'm going to talk to Snape, see if maybe he knows what this is." Draco runs out of the common room and into Professor Snape's office, knocking on the door. "Come in," Professor Snape is sitting behind his desk. "Sir, I'm sorry to bother you." *Snape waves Draco into his office.* "I can't find Furyan anywhere, sir. When I went looking for her in her room, I found this (hands the professor the disc) as well as blood on the floor. Do you have any idea what that is?" "No, I do not. Maybe we should go ask Madam Pomfrey? She may know." Professor Snape gets up from his seat and they walk to the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey has just finished checking on a third year who had taken one too many puking pastilles. He had finally stopped vomiting after taking the purple half of his last pastille. "Pomfrey, may we speak with you?" Snape gets her attention. "Make it quick. I'm quite busy." Draco starts explaining, "I didn't see Mia Furyan all day and when I went to look for her in her dorm room, I found these bloody clothes and that disc. Do you know what that disc is?" Snape hands the disc to Pomfrey, who looks over the disc, her free hand goes up to cover her mouth, hiding her quivering chin, she is clearly upset. "I haven't seen one of these in a very long time. It's a life disc." "What's a life disc?" Draco is concerned for his friend. "Some of the wealthier families that are well connected in the muggle world have them. A life disc is a way for loved ones to stay connected, siblings mostly. If they cannot be near each other they receive life discs that are linked to one another. And as you can see, this one has gone out." Pomfrey's voice cracked towards the end. "What does that mean?" Draco has figured it out but he wants to be sure. "It means whoever Furyan was linked with has died." Pomfrey hands the disc back to Draco. He takes it from her, looks down at the disc in his hand trying to figure out who Mia was linked to. "Thank you Pomfrey. Apologies for interrupting." Snape and Draco turned to leave. "I hope you find Furyan soon." Pomfrey says, looking at Draco with worry, then she turns towards her office.
Draco briskly walks back into the common room fearing the worst. He looks around the room and sees Pansy laughing, sitting on Blaise's lap. Draco practically runs over to them, "You want to know what this is? Do you?!" He shoves the disc in their face. "It's a life disc! It linked Mia to her sibling! If you notice, it's gone out! Whoever she was linked to has died!" Cupping the disc in his hand to point a finger in Pansy's face, "She came to you for someone to talk to, to comfort her, and you were too busy fucking Blaise!" Draco glares at the two of them and turns to walk away, "I don't know about you but I'm going to go look for her." Blaise pushes a speechless, emotional Pansy off of his lap to follow Draco, along with Theo. They have no clue where to start looking. "Draco, I'm sorry. I know you care about Furyan. I'm coming with you," Blaise walks alongside Draco with Theo on the other side of him. "Is there anywhere she likes to go when she's not at school?" Draco asked the other two boys while trying to remember if Mia told him about places she likes to venture to. "I haven't the slightest. Maybe her boyfriend would know?" Theo says and they turned towards the Lions Den.
They approached the portrait of the fat lady, "Can you inform Cormac McLaggen we would like to speak with him?" Draco asked the portrait. "Are you going to bully him?" The fat lady raises an eyebrow, questioning the boys. "No, we just want to ask him a question." Draco stated. The three of them are trying their best to remain calm until they get their answers.
A short while later the portrait swings open and McLaggen, Potter, Weasley and Granger step out. Draco rolls his eyes at the Gryffindors. "What do you want Malfoy?" McLaggen speaks up. Draco steps forward into McLaggen's face, he still has Mia's bloody clothes in his hands, "I just wanted to know if you have seen Furyan?" McLaggen snickers, "I haven't seen Mia since I dumped her a week ago." Draco slams her clothes onto the floor, yelling at the top of his lungs, "FUCK!" He turns to look at McLaggen, "Do you know any place she might go to be alone?" Granger opens her mouth to speak but McLaggen cuts her off, "No clue and I don't care." Draco turns to Granger noticing she was going to say something before McLaggen opened his mouth, "What about you Granger? Do you know anywhere she would go? I need to find her." "She told me one of her favorite places to go was her parents estate in Fairbanks, Alaska. She spoke highly of solar storms, they cause the Aurora Borealis." Everyone looks at Granger like she's gone mad. "You know, the Northern Lights. She told me her parents built a Muggle version of the Astronomy Tower inside the main house." Granger at least gave the boys a starting point. "Thanks Granger. The rest of you lot can sod off!" Draco makes his point clear by flipping the 'bird' at the Gryffindors as the Slytherins are walking away. Granger looks down at the bloody clothes and picks them up. 'What happened to Mia?'
The three Slytherins swiftly left the school without permission, entering the Three Broomsticks to use the floo network. The closest floo to Mia's parent's estate in Fairbanks is a wizarding inn about five miles outside of the town. They found this out after asking the innkeeper at the Three Broomsticks. Since it was broad daylight the boys could not fly on their brooms, shrunken down to fit in their pockets, but they were old enough to apparate on their own. So they used the floo, once stepping out and dusting off, they apparitated to a small wooded area right on the edge of Fairbanks. "How are we going to find her? None of us have been to her family's home." The three boys walked out of the woods and started walking down one of the main streets. Their heads swiveling side to side, constantly keeping an eye out for Mia. "Wait...If she is here to see the Northern Lights, where would be the best view?" Blaise asked while looking towards the mountain side.
Draco follows Blaise's gaze and notices the large houses on the mountainside. "Maybe it's one of the larger homes on that mountain. They have a spectacular view of the whole area." They cautiously but quickly make their way towards the top of the mountain. The largest estate of them all sat on the very top of the mountain, and judging by the domed ceiling in one part of the home it had its own observatory, almost like the Astronomy Tower. "That is definitely the right place." Blaise is practically jumping for joy at this point. Let's hope he's right and they find her. Walking up to the front gates, the Furyan family crest is clearly seen mounted in the center. They continue to walk up the long, paved driveway, they stop on the front steps. Draco raises his fist to knock on the door, announcing loudly, "Mia, are you here?" 'Please be here.' Thinking to himself as he impatiently waits.
After a few moments, Draco opens the door which seemed to be unlocked. Draco, Blaise and Theo enter the home. "Split up. She's got to be here somewhere. I'll take the upstairs, you two search down here." Blaise turns to Theo, "If there's a basement I'm not going down there." Theo scoffs, "Coward." Draco heads upstairs to look for Mia. He starts with the master bedroom, then he was going to search every room working his way back to the top of the stairs. He knocks and slowly opens the bedroom door, "Mia, are you in here?" He walks further into the room, looking around he stops to stare out of the glass pane double doors onto a upper deck. He can barely make out a figure sitting on the floor of the deck with their body slumped against the wall.
Draco opens the doors and steps outside, "Mia!" *Draco drops to his knees in front of Furyan and cups her face in his hands. Her face is sickly pale, skin is ice cold, and her breathing is shallow. Her eyes barely open hearing Draco's voice.* "Mia can you hear me?" *She slightly nods her head.* "Can you stand?" Barely shaking her head, "No, I get very dizzy and almost pass out. How did you find me?" Draco wraps one arm behind her back and the other under her knees to pick Mia up. "I asked the lions and they told me where to look. Well, Granger told me, the others didn't seem to care." Draco carries Mia out of the bedroom and towards the front door, calling for the other two. They both come running, "Mia! Thank Merlin!" Blaise exclaims. Draco notices Mia is starting to lose consciousness, "Hold onto me, we're going back to Hogwarts." Mia barely has any strength left to hold on to Draco. Luckily the trip back is short.
Once back at Hogwarts, Draco takes Mia to the hospital wing. She is very weak from blood loss and needs to be monitored. "Can I stay with her? She shouldn't be alone." Draco sets Mia down on an empty bed. Madam Pomfrey sighs loudly, " I suppose. Just don't fall behind in your classes." Draco nods his head then has an idea, "I won't. I'll be right back." Draco runs to Gryffindor tower and approaches the fat lady. "You again?" Draco doubles over trying to catch his breath, "I don't want any trouble. I need to speak with Hermione Granger." The fat lady rolls her eyes, "Fine. Wait here."
The portrait swings open once again, only Granger walks out this time. "Did you find her?" Draco nods his head, "She's very weak. Madam Pomfrey is checking her over now but has to stay in the hospital wing. I'm going to stay with her. I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" *Granger is skeptical, so Draco continues.* "I was hoping you could possibly let me know the assignments from our classes. I will have my books with me, I just need the assignments." Granger nods her head, "I can do that. Do you think Mia will be alright?" Draco shakes his head, "Only time will tell. She just lost someone very close to her, and shouldn't be alone right now. Thanks Granger. I appreciate it." Draco turns to head back to the hospital wing when the fat lady portrait opens again, "Was that Malfoy? What did he want?" Weasley snidely asked. Granger exhales and faces Weasley, "He found Mia and is going to stay with her in the hospital wing. He came to ask if I could let him know the assignments for his classes while he stays with her." Granger looks in the direction of the hospital wing, "I agreed. He actually asked me politely." Granger is stumped by Malfoy's behaviour but she is not going to question it. He has been a prat to her and her friends, so Malfoy wouldn't go out of his way to ask her to retrieve his assignments unless it was important. Malfoy must have strong feelings for Mia if he is willing to ask her for help. "We should get back to everyone." Weasley lightly grabs Granger's arm. They both step back through the portrait into the crowded common room.
Draco is sitting in a chair facing Mia's bed, he can't take his eyes off of her. 'Wish she would have come to me. I could have helped her.' Thinking to himself, feeling guilty about what happened. 'Pansy should have talked to her.' He's making himself mad all over again thinking about the whole situation. Hearing a rustling of bed covers, Draco looks up to see Mia trying to shift position but she's still in a lot of pain. "Mia? Hey, you awake?" Mia groans, "What Draco?" He moves to sit next to her on the bed, "Can you tell me what happened? Who were you linked to?" Draco brings the disc out of his pocket. "Not that's any of your business, I overexerted myself going home. Everything hurts ...everything. I lost everyone, I'm alone and nobody cares about me." Tears are running down Mia's face. "That's not true. I care." Draco strokes Mia's cheek with the back of his fingers, wiping the tears away. "Blaise, Theo and Granger, they care too." Draco is too afraid to admit how he really feels about Mia. "You're not alone. Stop skirting around the question. Who were you linked to?" Draco looks Mia dead in the eyes waiting for an answer. She looks up at the ceiling then back at Draco, "My twin brother, Marcus. We were all each other had ever since our parents died. And now he's gone…..Everything's gone."
Draco has been one of Mia's best friends, since first year. That is until he saw her at the beginning of the year when she exited the Hogwarts Express. She had grown even more beautiful over the summer. Normally the small group of friends would hang out during the breaks, but everyone had other plans this last summer. The first time Draco, Blaise, Theo, and Pansy saw each other was in their compartment on the way to Hogwarts. During the ride, Draco would continually look for Mia. He never saw her until everyone got off the train.
When he did his heart beat faster than ever, blood rushed to his cheeks causing a deep blush. Mia was already a beautiful witch, however, she had become even more radiant over the break. Her once uncontrollable, silver hair fell in ringlets down her back. Her naturally tan skin was flawless and her violet eyes saw right through his soul. Not to mention her body is absolutely perfect with curves in all the right places. Draco didn't realize he was staring at Mia until McLaggen stepped into his line of sight and shook his head. McLaggen mouthed the words, 'She is mine. Back off!' Then he proceeds to put his arm around Mia's shoulder and kiss her while keeping his eyes on Draco, claiming her. Draco looked away, his heart sank into his stomach. Although, he recovered quickly when he remembered Furyan belonged in Slytherin, he will get to see her more than McLaggen.
Shaking his head from the memory, he looked at his hand on Mia's cheek, waiting for her to move away. "You still have me… Us, you still have us. We're your family too." Draco gave her a genuine smile, he only really smiles when he is around her. "Thank you Draco. But, it's not the same. I have no living relatives. My brother and I were all that's left of the Furyans' and now he's gone. I don't even know where he was or what happened? We have been distant from each other since he goes..." Mia clears her throat trying to stop more tears from falling, "went to Ilvermorny. I chose to attend Hogwarts instead of staying by his side. Maybe if I was with Marcus, he would still be here." Mia sobs even harder. "Or you would have died alongside him. We would have never met. And I would have never gained a great friend. You're my best friend Mia. There are times I would have been lost without you. You have helped me through so much. There are things you know about me that Blaise or Theo doesn't know. And I grew up with those two. You are a lot stronger than you think. I will be right by your side to help you like you helped me. I promise." Draco shifts further up the bed, wraps his arms around Mia and pulls her into his chest, holding in a tight hug while she continues to cry.
Madam Pomfrey opens her office door and walks into the infirmary to check on her patient, and give Mia another sleeping drought. She slows her steps when noticing Draco holding a sobbing Furyan. "All right you two, time to get some rest. Miss Furyan you need to rest and regain your strength. Here. Take this. It will help you sleep." Pomfrey hands Mia the vial then looks to Draco. "If you're going to stay the entire time I suggest you get some rest too. In a separate bed." Draco blushes a deep red, then transfigures the chair into a small cot next to Mia's bed. Mia quickly drinks the potion, it tastes awful. Her face scrunches in disgust as she hands the empty vial back to Pomfrey. "Good night you two. I will check on you in the morning Miss Furyan." "Thank you Madam Pomfrey. Good night." Mia lays down and tries to get comfortable, snuggling into the covers on her side facing Draco's cot, she lets her heavy lidded eyes close. "Good night Draco." He climbs under the covers on the cot, looks up at Mia and smiles. "Good night Mia."
A/N: Even though Voldemort is not in this story, the Death Eaters are still around. This story doesn't follow the books, however, there will be trouble for our main characters.