A shaky breath left him.

Whatever was going on... he was actually free. Imagine that.

He almost felt... relieved at that, having been torn away from being in the Dark Lord clutches. But it had seemed... however he was here.. he played with the ring now again, staring at the black gem set in place in the middle. Right... So he had at least met the Dark Lord.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the view of outside again, and he pushed himself to go over to the window while slipping the ring back on out of habit.

To have it close.

Snow. Snow was starting to flutter down the ground--

The teen finally realized he had felt cold earlier outside. He instinctively wrapped his uniform closer to himself, letting out a sigh.

It hadn't been too cold out earlier...

Just a touch chilly.

1998

Gods...

Ragged breath accompanied him that very night underneath the brilliant array of starlight through the trees' leaves from up above, as he stumbled nearly over a thick tree root.

"F-Fuck," He hissed out, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to catch his breath.His whole body was aching. He... he had to keep running.

He didn't know where to... Just... just somewhere AWAY from all the bullshit.

A sob, a sob just like from earlier escaped from just then.

Tears tried to hold themselves back again...

Fuck.

All that BLOOD...

No. They wouldn't escape. He.. h-he.. couldn't think about it, not until he knew he could be safe. At least semi-safe.

Why?

WHY DID IT HAVE TO HAPPEN?

Just why...

He had been LOYAL. Or loyal as a Malfoy could be to a Cause. A righteous Cause. He had even become the Second in Command...

His stomach twisted.

And yet… that very position of his was filled with someone else, as he had quickly learned after returning from.. that horrid prison. Horrid place.

He had worked so hard.

His feet started to crunch the cool, crunchy ground beneath him once more. Exhaustion wouldn't stop him. No. This was impulsive, and with damned good reason… At least to him.

He HAD TO run away. From the HUGE problem.

Suddenly, his shoes snagged a trunk and there he went, his face hitting the grass. Silence hit him all of a sudden, and then there was an abrupt crying that came from his form. Pure pain surged forth from him, as he pushed himself up from the ground shaking, tears running hotly down his cheeks, mixing in with his slightly dirted blonde hair..

…At least no one could hear him, but that was furthest away from his mind.

'Malfoys don't cry', as one of the traits of the Family should have. Ignored. BURNED away.

He felt he couldn't stop, nor did he want to.

"W-Why… DID IT HAVE TO H-HAPPEN…!" His yell fell into the peacefulness around him. It just made him sob harder, as he spun around and punched the ground.

Gods, that felt good.

Another punch—it felt GOOD this time. A little bit of an injury.

Fuck, he deserved it.

His palm, he turned around his little bit of scuffed fist and opened it up… He swallowed hard as he looked at it. Blood was still a bit caked on it when he discovered the two in the Manor.

Another shudder and another sob, as he felt new tears spring forth.

Their blood running, dripping.

H-He… did this.

He ALLOWED this because he was a Death Eater. It was a punishment, one he didn't ever want to face.

"I-If… only… I could have another c-chance…"

Desperate situations called desperate measures…

He looked upwards, tears still hotly running down his face. He… didn't particularly find himself religious, or spiritual…

"W-Whatever… is up there… please.." His voice raw from the emotion earlier.

This was… utterly stupid. But… the situation was completely out of his hands. He felt like he was dangling from a ledge of sorts.

Ready to jump off a cliff.

Be gone.

"If there… was ever a chance to change… to stop this from happening…"

Fuck, was he even being heard? By Magickal forces, or otherwise?

….Who the fuck knew.

He WANTED to be heard.

"My F-Family…" They were so important to him. He fell silent, feeling hopeless. At least… it had felt good to get off his chest in some sense.

….Ah, yes, some PATHETIC begging.

What a cherry on top.

Finally. Some anger finally bubbled up to the surface, as he scowled up at the sky. Ironically enough, he had talked towards it where there had been a large opening in the trees showcasing the full moon and its stars. Beautiful to say the least.

So… wrongfully peaceful.

His scowl grew. It wasn't right…

How did he fall so hard?

The flashback threatened to be disturbed, as the teenager rapidly blinked, feeling quite intruded upon. Was… his name being called?

"Excuse me?" The blonde asked, turning his head towards the source.

Professor Slughorn stood there with a concerned expression painted over his face. "My boy, we're going to be late," he said, as he motioned for Lucius to follow.

Bloody hell. Classes today? "Of course, sir… I've lost track of the time." It wasn't a lie.

"Ahh, sometimes we can end up doing that, indeed…" Slughorn smiled a bit, as he waited for the teenager who pushed himself up from the wall to join the Head of Slytherin.

"Just some new art designs floating in my mind..'' His tone was quiet.

"Mmmm, you are quite talented, Lucius… hopefully you can conjure up something sooner or later, but for now, I could use your assistance in teaching the class today with a new potion."

Fuck. "O-Oh, what way?" It startled him almost, he'll be center stage when he was… feeling out of it?

"I'll just have you gather the ingredients for me as we start to brew it. A demonstration for the class." He paused, frowning a bit, his excitement dulled a little. "…Are you alright, my boy?"

Lucius swallowed hard. What a loaded question. "Just… a busy week." One could say that.

Slughorn nodded, understanding. "Life is funny like that sometimes!" He tried to say lightly.

Lucius had to stop himself from snapping at the other. "…I suppose."

The professor furrowed his brows. "Not so hot, huh?" He lowered his tone, as they rounded a corner.

A heavy sigh left him. His anger had slipped in a bit into that, afterall. The other could understand. He scowled. "…You could say that."

Another nod came from the somewhat overweight man. "I believe in you, Lucius. In time you'll know how to work through it."

Lucius scowled. "Perhaps," he answered vaguely.

Silence fell onto the two now, as they continued their way towards the Dungeons.