Confessions of a Villain

Chapter Four

Perfect

Hey Dad look at me
Think back and talk to me
Did I grow up according to plan?
Do you think I'm wasting
My time doing things I want to do?

I try not to think
About the pain I feel inside
Did you know you used to be
My hero? Simple Plan

"Do you have any clue as to where you are going?"

I shot Potter an irritated look despite the fact that he had made a valid point. I was pretty sure that we had walked past the same statue three times.

"I, unlike you, actually have a sense of direction Potter. Just because there isn't some shortcut to take doesn't mean that we aren't going in the right direction. Or, if you would rather I suppose that you could just find your own way out of here." I smirked at his silence to the question, "that's what I thought. So shut-up and fall in line."

"Fall in line," he mumbled under his breath; "because there's just so many of us in this group, we do want everything orderly now."

The corners of my mouth twisted upwards to indicate my amusement as I continued walking. "Well Potter I was just attempting to compensate for your imaginary friends back there, I wouldn't want them all running around in chaos now."

He gave a very pathetic noise that sounded like a laugh that he had started but had been quickly silenced. He wouldn't want to start laughing at the enemy's jokes now.

"So Malfoy," he said in a lazy tone, "with your wonderful sense of direction and all could you please explain to me why we are going up?"

"What the hell are you talking about Potter?"

He rolled his eyes and pointed towards an empty space on the wall, "I've been looking out every window that we've passed and we are definitely moving upwards."

"Windows?" I said incredulously as I instinctively turned my head around searching for the item in question. Seeing none I narrowed my eyes in an accusatory manner, "Potter, there are no windows anywhere in here."

He opened his mouth once, closed it, and then repeated the actions. "What do you mean?" He stormed over to the wall and slammed his fist into it, "there is a window right here it's the thing that I have my hand sticking out of!"

I shook my head; the boy had clearly lost it. It was a shame too; I was in no mood to deal with the insane. "Potter," I said very slowly, "there is no window there, nor have we yet to pass one. There is just a stone wall, you have your hand resting on a wall, there is no window."

"But-"

"No!"

"Don't you-"

"There's nothing there!"

His face fell for a moment and he looked completely lost. His hand went towards his chin and he began to rub it in thought. "You only see a wall here?" Seething, I nodded my head, not feeling up to explaining it to him again. "Hmm, that is strange."

"The only thing strange here is you Potter. Now, if you're finished trying to morph the wall into things can we get a move on?"

He nodded slowly and started to walk away from the wall, "whatever you say Malfoy."

"That bloody scar must be seeping into your brain and causing you to become disillusioned Potter." He flashed an extremely fake smile, I scowled, and we continued on our merry way.

After about five minutes Potter became obviously agitated by the silence that I was more than happy to give.

"So Malfoy," he began in a conversational tone, "how's Virginia?"

"Why would you assume that I would know?"

He narrowed his eyes and I got a childish satisfaction of knowing that I had annoyed him. "Because you've lived with her for like the past three years."

I shrugged my shoulders; "I lived with my father for more than fifteen years and didn't know jack shit about him. Never assume anything Potter."

"God," he said exasperated, "do you have to make everything so difficult! I was just attempting to be nice and make small talk so we don't have to walk in an eerie silence."

"Well I happen to like walking in an 'eerie' silence," I said defiantly.

"Fine then, I won't talk anymore."

"Fine."

Ten minutes later

"Seriously, how is Virginia?"

I turned around with a hard look, "I know that being in that simple mind of yours the concept of being quiet may be difficult to grasp, but please do exert some sort of effort."

He bit his lip for a moment and then ran a hand through that god-awful hair of his. I unconsciously winced while looking at his hair, would it kill him to brush it once in a while?

"You're avoiding the question Malfoy," he finally said decisively.

"Acute observations as always Potter," I said resorting to my usual dry sarcastic wit. "She's trapped inside a prison that's disguised as a house Potter, how would you be?"

"Is she still angry about that?"

I snapped my head around quickly and when I saw that he was asking an earnest question simply shook it in disbelief. "You should really win some kind of award for your amazing sensitivity Potter. I'm sure that you would be more than happy to sacrifice your every freedom and fighting rights so that you could be kept alive for the 'cause.'"

"If it meant for the good of everyone I wouldn't mind in the least. If it was either my freedom or the lives of innocent people I would choose to make that small sacrifice anytime."

I repressed a snort at his statement. His past had an extreme way of disproving his noble comments. "Actions speak louder scarface."

With that understood he dropped the subject at hand…well, not completely. "But other than that, she's all right then?"

"She's absolutely bloody peachy."

"Malfoy," he asked, not picking up on my extreme irritation, "do you love her, despite all that's happened?"

I stopped dead in my tracks as surprise swept over me; I hadn't been expecting that one. Not wanting to let him pick up on my nervousness on the question I quickly said, "Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds."

His face clearly showed his blunt confusion. "What?"

I shook my head yet again, "Shakespeare Potter, perhaps you've heard of him?"

"Isn't he a muggle though?"

"That doesn't make the words any less true."

This time, he shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd quote a muggle."

"I never thought I'd see the day when you lived up to the stupidity that I always expected of you." He returned my glare and finally granted my wish as we continued on in silence.

We walked for what seemed to be about an hour before I realized that I couldn't be more confused about the situation if I tried. We had been walking for hours and yet we had taken no stairs and the path didn't seem to be slanted in any way.

The only thing that came to mind was that it was a large circle and we were just going around and around. If that were the case I would feel very very stupid.

"Malfoy I know that we've went past that painting at least five times now."

I glared at the painting in question, a man that looked strangely like my father-and therefore me-triumphantly holding up the head of a…house elf? I squinted, now genuinely curious about the painting; it was a house elf's head! How very strange, not to mention mortifying; a Malfoy would never touch a house elf.

"Malfoy!"

I jerked back to reality and took my eyes off the picture. "My father happens to like that painting, it's no surprise that he would place them all over." An extremely blunt lie, but it's not like I'm going to let the likes of Potter accuse me of literally walking in circles.

He tapped his foot impatiently and from the look on his face I could quickly decipher that he didn't buy my bluff. "While it is a lovely painting and so very fitting for you family, I would just like to say that I think that you have no clue how to get out of here and we are no closer to leaving than we were three hours ago!" He let out a large sigh and I tried not to allow my impression show that he had managed to say all of that in one breath.

With a deciding sigh I let go of my bluff. "Fine Potter, I have no idea where we are."

His reaction was not one that I had expected at in the least. His eyes squinted together closely before opening widely and a vein located in his neck was popping out in an amusing fashion. "Do you mean to tell me," he said in a slow dark tone, "that you don't know where we are?"

"Isn't that what you just told me a second ago Potter?"

"You mean that you got us lost!" I made no attempt to hide the fact that I thought this was an idiotic comment. Obviously we were lost, he had just called me on that like two minutes ago.

"If you want me to mollycoddle you and tell you that I know exactly where we are then fine, I'll do that. But if you want the truth Potter, it's that I don't know anymore about this place than you do." He looked less angry, but still childishly upset.

"I thought that you knew how to get out of here Malfoy," he said, grasping at straws, as he obviously wasn't ready to admit defeat.

I shrugged and decided that telling him the truth was much more fun that leading him in circles. "So I lied."

He shook his head angrily and attempted to string together a coherent sentence. "You are such a…Slytherin."

"Ouch Potter," I said dryly, "watch tossing around insults like that, someone's likely to get hurt."

He glared, I glared, and then I sat down. I wasn't about to walk around that damn circle thing again.