Chapter One: Numb

"What are you doing!" demanded a voice. She turned and her silver eyes widen with fear. NO THEY CANNOT SEE! She screamed in her mind. She did not know what to do, then she pulled out her wand and as she began to speak a charm a hand grabbed her left wrist.

"What are you doing!" barked the voice. Her eyes tried to look up but, even then it was either too dark or she was blind because she could not see who grabbed her bloody wrist. She hears the voice whisper and then she heard an older voice whisper back. She was worried; she was scared that she would be kicked out of the only place except for the villa she called home.

"Who…who are you?" she stuttered out with fear. She could hear the bloody dripping from off her arm. She felt the grip on her wrist tighten. She was more scared than she has in awhile. Then as she stared blindly upwards with fear she felt another hand but this was different because it was gently laid upon her right shoulder. She felt at peace for a single moment.

"Keety…it is me Ella, Ella Dowling. Why are you doing this," Ella said with concern. Keety lowered her eyes and felt she was nothing but, hurtful trouble. Great Job Keety. Keety Rhea a first year Ravenclaw was expelled from HOL today! She yelled as she thought of the headlines in the Daily Prophet.

"Ella…calm yourself and let go of her wrist dear," the other voice spoke, "Keety…I am Professor Laffengraff one of the Ravenclaw Head Professors." "Oh heavens no!" She screamed in her mind. She was clinching her fists to hold her fear and shame in herself. The Professor walked around her and lifted Keety's chin and said, "My dear please tell me why you do this to yourself? I don't think you family would like to know that their child is hurting herself."

"That is why I do it!" Keety blurted out in anger and turned her head to her side. She lowers her head allowing her hair to hid the anger and fear in her eyes from Laffengraff and Ella words. Keety somehow felt their surprise when she said that. "Why did you say that you dang idiot," she said and clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palm.

"What do you mean Keety? I mean what did you family do to you?" Ella asked with more concern in her voice. Keety was now in trouble. She remembered it clearly: The Daily Prophet gave big headlines about the rich Rhea family. Death eaters killed her family. But, see no one expect those few knew that the Rhea's were one of the highest known members of the death eaters' cult.

"Ella, you DON'T want to know the truth," Keety said in a low pitch voice. Keety tilted her head slightly almost dead like. Her pupils were dilated. Just by the way she turned you would think she was control by something. She wanted Ella to heed her warning and forget what she admitted trice before. The pain intensive more and more. The pain of opening a book that has not been read, not even she; the author of the book has read it because of the horror. Yet she could play it like a muggle moving picture. She held this pain in her and she swore no one would know the pain. Her frighten body tried to get up and run because she could not see she was held by someone.

"LET ME GO!" Keety screamed and struggled to release herself from the gasps that were holding her. Tears fell and she pleaded for them to let go.

"I am not letting go! Tell me what did they do to make you hurt yourself," Ella said. Keety felt liquid on her right hand. "Is Ella crying?" She was pondering this and her motherly instincts took her and she hugged Ella.

"Ella…You don't need to know because you don't need my pain. Please let me deal with this my way," Keety explained softly.

"And what? Let you bleed to death," Ella asked. Even without her sight she could tell Ella was pissed. Keety knew Ella's eyebrows would lower and her bottom lip would be tucked in.

"I am not trying to bleed to death! I am just trying to bleed! I am dead in my mind. I am like a fallen spirit yet I am physical alive. So I cut to make sure I am BLOODY alive!" She explained with a dead look. Her face was pale yet it was still tan like. She did feel dead since she was four yet she started to cut when she was eleven. Keety felt confusion because she knew nothing she said made sense. How could she tell her horrors to Ella: her eagle-sister? She went silent for a moment and then lifted her face and stared blindly at she did not know what.

"Let go of me. I will not run," she spoke with a dead yet soft tone. Ella slowly let go as if worried Keety was lying. Keety sat down with the help of Ella. Keety took out her wand and quickly spoke a charm. She heard a gasp but did not know from whom. She had exposed the real body. From head to toe. She was scarred, burned, and bloody knows what.

"These are not all from cutting," she mentioned as if she knew what they were thinking, "these were made by my family and I will give you the real truth that are hidden in the dark corners with myself."