--
The portraits on the walls glared at you, regal looking fiends and then slightly smaller pictures of their spouses, eyes gleaming maliciously, taking in your every move, but nearly never speaking. Especially not to you. The only time they did 'grace you with their words' was to hiss at you or call insults. "You are not fit to be connected to the Dark Lord!" or "You are filthy and you dont deserve the things you have been given!" You never even knew who the people in the portraits were. Well, the only thing you did know about them were their names and their "dates". For instance,
br Br i Charles Xavior Nott III, Duke of Parlor 1862-1919 /i . br Br
Most things in this house were older than time itself. You tiptoed lightly into the dining hall where a few people sat waiting, just waiting. A man was seated at the end of the long table; well, more of a shadow of a man. You did not announce your arrival, but merely took a seat between two people who were bowing their heads. Not moving, barely breathing it seemed. You and them, were all used to it. It was a rule, and around here you could not eat until he did. If you did, you bled. Continuously. Even at your young age, you knew more pain than most people would in their entire life. They could not even fathom. br Br
You sat there waiting.. watching the house elves feed i him /i . Just looking at him you would think of a porceline doll. No, just kidding. Although he seemed just as breakable. He could now eat most foods, and he could do it by himself too but what was the point in doing everything by yourself when you could get other people, followers if you will, to do it for you? The thought was perposterous. Even though he looked strange sitting there.. being fed like an infant, a pang of jealousy overcame you. You wanted followers.. people that could follow after you, fearing when you spoke, fearing the silence around you, your eyes penetrating into their souls. Or lack there of. br Br
You figetted with your hands under the table and unbeknownst to you, you started humming. Ever so quietly that you didnt even notice; the same song as before, but lacking the words. Whilst you stared down at the white tablecloth covering the table a pair of red eyes watched you. You could feel their penetrating glare in the side of your head, searching, probing. ' I Oh please, I wasnt trained for nothing you idiot /i ' you thought in your mind. The presence immediately left but you could still feel the eyes, now with an aura of anger around them.. still watching. Then he spoke, this did not surprise you. br Br
"Do you think it is wise to say things like that to me you stupid girl?" came the highpitched, cold as ice voice from the far end of the table. The voice sounded more like a snake than a human... and maybe it was. It seemed slightly funny to you that noone in the room had even the faintest idea of what he was talking about, seeing as though you merely thought it, not spoke it aloud. br Br
"Wise isn't exactly the word I would use.. i sir... /i " You said the last word disdainfully. He had no rule over you. He wasnt your father... persay. br Br
"I thought as much. Don't say such foolish things in the future Raine or you'll be cut in two before you can say blood." He spat out venomously. There was collective shudder from all around the room though none dared speak. br Br
"Well maybe you should stop trying to break into my mind when Im just sitting here doing nothing" you mumbled to yourself. Unfortuntatly there are no whispers that go unheard here. br Br
"Are you familiar with the unforgiveable curses? Because I would gladly have Lucius let you in on the little secret" he said harshly nodding his hooded head towards a man whom did not move save a slight nod to say that he had heard and understood what the Dark Lord was implying.
"Am I familiar with them!" Your voice was getting steadily louder; you were never one to be able to control your little outbursts. "The hell do you think you are? Are you stupid? Of course I'm familiar with them, hell I know them better than I knew my father!" you spat out, standing up. Suddenly you felt very foolish. The few heads situated around the table had started to look up, some with appalled looks on their face, other with grim amusment. Some looked extremely frightened... which they very well should be. You knew you had stepped over the line on that one. Noone.. NOONE mentions your father, or any of your 'family' without getting into some serious... issues. br Br
"DO NOT talk about that! I am your father now and you should be glad to have such a figure! Do you realize people here would have their heads handed to me to merely have the thought of such a thing! How dare you have the guts to stand there and denounce me! Lucius, if you would please, room 11 is free, take her out of my sight before I kill everyone one of you lowlifes." Oh he was mad. Madder than the madhatter. You had seen him mad of course, most of the time it involved precious Potter and his little friends. You didn't know Potter but the hell with liking him. You HATED him, all he ever resulted in was pissing off the Dark Lord and who was paying for it? You! br Br
You stood there like a deer caught in headlights as you watched Lucius make his way around the table and grab your wrist roughly, sending a clear view of the dark mark on his left arm. He could be so tactless sometimes, the Dark Lord that is. Why would you mark, nay brand your followers for the world to see? Most of the time it only resulted in getting them caught and put in Azkaban or worse yet, killed. Lucius dragged you out of the dining room, not saying a word, through a hallway, turned right, then left, until you came upon a red door with the number 11 on it. It reminded you of those hotel rooms, all you needed now was house keeping... where was Betty anyways? Meanwhile, this was probably not the best time to be wondering where that God-forsaken house elf was. Lucius threw you roughly into the room in front of him before waltzing in himself, shutting the door and muttering a locking spell. This was not going to be pretty. br Br
"How dare you insult the Dark Lord! Have you a burning passion to die prematurely? Or are you just extremely tactless!" Ironic, and here you were thinking he was the one that was tactless. br Br
"I have neither the burning passion to die, nor am I tactless. I do, however, have an opinion of my own which is far more than I can say for you Lucius. The day you have a real thought of your own that wasnt put into your empty head by my poor excuse of a fatherly figure is the day I make friends with all the houseelves and join the circus. Although, with that hair of yours, you could fit in quite well, I could get you half off if you -" br Br
Smack. Right across the face. A burning handprint was etched into your right cheek, it was growing hott and tingling but you didnt show any pain or fear. br Br
"As I was saying you could get half off, or you could join as a clown! All we need to get you is a nice big red nose! It'll be-" br Br
"Are you some kind of Masochist you dumb bitch?" He roared, brandishing his wand out in front of him now like a whip. br Br
"No, i Sir /i . I don't enjoy pain, but you see, this has nothing to do with pain because I have felt no pain in this room. You are aware that you hit like a woman? A dying woman, in fact." You grinned like a madwoman. This was definately not what you had in mind when you came in here. Temper, temper. br Br
"Oh, may you rot in hell blood traitor!" And with those lovely parting words you heard him mutter something and a flash of purplish light issued from his wands striking you fully on the chest before you had a chance to respond. A thousand hot burning knives were piercing every inch of your flesh. You would think after having this done to you so many times, the effect would begin to wear off, but it never seemed to get any less horrendous. Although the pain was still as real as ever, you could now begin to throw off the effects sooner, if you concentrated, which was easier said than done. Before you could pull yourself together you felt yourself drop down to the ground in a lump. Straining you got up and promptly spit on his new shoes. br Br
"Bastard!" You laughed, sounding slightly hysterical. br Br
"You stupid bitch!" And the pain returned, slicing you open, coming back in full force, and then some. White hott pain came from every crevice on your body. Oh how you wished it would end! Please, let it end! br Br
After a few more minutes, which really seemed like hours, of Lucius' merciless spell, it ended, just as abruptly as it started. This caused you to come crashing down, once again onto the cold stone floor, you were shaking violently and tears were wet and fresh on your face. You looked up to see Lucius' pale complextion. Pasty, one would usually call it. His face distorted into a sneer, one that you were all to familiar with, and all too sick of. Someone should really smack the smirk off his flawless face. br Br
"Another lesson brought to you by Lucius Malfoy. This will teach you to speak before you act Raine. Remember that. " And then he kicked you. Full in the stomach, knocking the wind out of you and preventing you from saying anything more. Not that you couldve anyway. You could barely breathe and you were shaking madly. After a few moments you heard shuffling feet coming from behind you, no doubt the small pattering of houseelf feet. Everything was growing dim and it was getting harder to keep a concious thought in your mind other than pain. Nerve-slicing pain. Slowly but surely everything went black, sending you crashing into the cold world of unconciousness. Far away from the reality you were forced to live. br Br
You awoke the next day feeling horrid, not that that was different from usual. This time, however, it was due to the aching you felt in your stomach and in your ribcage, as well as the throbbing right side of your face. It took a few minutes before you could think of what exactly happened last night. You never got to eat lunch because you were off on a 'job' and dinner definately didn't come because you were busy getting the hell beat out of you by that stupid piece of pureblood trash. You pulled yourself slowly out of bed, wincing at the pain in your ribs and walked over to the floor length mirror that hung loosely on your wall. You were a mess. You had a swollen eye that was half shut and your cheek was puffed out more than usual and they were both turning a purpleish black color.. even with a slight green tint to it. Disgusting. You lifted up your shirt enough to get a glimpse of what damage had been done when he kicked you so ruthlessly in the stomach the night before. Same effect, bruises were sprouting everywhere. You pressed down lightly on the bottommost rib, checking for breaks. None seemed there... but who knew. You were certainly no doctor... however you had been through this enough to know that you were probably right in thinking there were no breaks. br Br
You let your shirt fall back down and jumped back in bed. Hopefully they'd forget you exsisted and leave you to rot in this hell hole. Better than being out there anyway... but only slightly. Another hour passed and you were just on the verge of falling back asleep when Betty came trolloping in, looking meek and sporting a huge welt on the top of her lopsided head. Obviously 'someone' had gotten a little angry, again, last night. You couldnt help but feel a little responsible for her injury, seeing as though it was probably you who put him in such a horrible mood. Then again he might have just done it for fun. Who knew... who cared. br Br
"Miss Raine, it is time for a bath, master said he wishes to talk to you when you are ready miss. Your clothes are ready in the bathroom and your toothbrush is in there as well. Good day miss." She curtsied and scurried away, probably hoping not to be around another human at that particular moment in fear of getting hit like last night. Grudgingly, you walked towards the bathroom at the far end of the hall and turned the water as hot as it would go, hoping that maybe all of your bruises were merely makeup. Alas they werent. When you got out of the shower you chanced a glace in the mirror above the sink. Sadly, nothing had changed. You got ready and brushed your teeth and hair, pulling it back into a ponytail and then taking it out again, hoping that if you left it down, your hair would hide some of the bruises on your face. When you were completely dressed and ready, you walked slowly to 'his' room. What he could possibly want, couldn't be good.
--------
You approached his room, a silver door with a serpent like door handly on it. You knocked lightly, but with his insane snake hearing or whatnot, he heard you. You wouldnt be surprised if he had stuck his tounge out and sensed you outside his door, ragged breathing and all.
"Come in" You heard the cold voice through the door. You didn't anounce yourself but instead reached for the silver serpent handle that gleamed with the torches that were lit on the surrounding walls. The snake hissed and its ruby jeweled eyes twinkled dangerously but it did not move, the door merely creaked open, revealing a dim room lit with only candles and more torches. A fire roared on the far side of the room and cast an eerie glow on the rest of the room. i God, why was he so creepy, he really needed to get out more and stop being so antisocial. /i
You caught your reflection in a mirror that was sitting in the corner of the room by a particularly thorny plant that appeared to be dead... but of course that suited the rest of the interior. It was still gruesome, your face that is, plus, with the lighting in the room casting strange shadows that played across your face, you appeared to be in worse condition than earlier this morning.
"Arent you looking splendid this morning" the cold voice drawled from behind the desk. You noticed a serpent at least 15 feet long was coiled on the hearth rug by the fire like some sort of sick impression of a dog. Mans best friend? I think not. You didn't like that snake, never had, never will.
"Oh yes, I wonder what could've happened to me.. I suppose I must have slipped.. oh no wait, you ordered the little Albino to beat the hell out of me again!"
"It's for your own good, you do not backtalk me, or talk without being spoken to, and you do not, DO NOT denounce me, especially in front of all the deatheaters. Now, as to why I called you here..."
"What is it now.." He went on as though you never interuppted him.
"Seeing as though Lucius is now on the run from the Ministry, and I have several of the others in Bangkok doing business for me there with Ahlbed Bashiren and the feudal banking systems, I'm running out of options to go get me some things that I am in desperate need of at the present time. You however, seem to be supremely well at doing nothing, and I think it is about time you got out and started pulling your weight around here."
"I wonder why I sit around doing nothing all day, maybe its because I basically dont exist? You know the only people that know I'm even alive are you and the other death eaters! I havent been off this property besides having to go get people to join you or slaughtering them... since I was...-"
"Silence!" You hesitated.
"Psh..Fine.What do you want to me to do, oh i parental figure /i ?
"Cut the sarcasm Raine or you'll find yourself in worse condition than you are now. If not dead, seeing as though you so kindly pointed out to me, no one knows you exsist, therefore your death will not be an issue. Do you understand me?"
"...Yes, i sir /i ."
"Good, now that we have an understanding, on with your mission."
"Oh no, not again, I just got another one to join Yesterday! I dont need to wash more blood off my clothes, I'm getting sick of...-"
"No, not another one of those missions, this time it will be much more simple. All you'll be doing is taking a portkey to an abandoned warehouse in Hungary, then you'll use a fireplace there to floo to a place in southern France by the name of "Le Creuset". Here you will speak to a doorman, the only doorman that will be wearing a red diamond around his neck. He will say "Un serpent dans l'herbe vaut la peine deux dans le buisson" Which is basically talking about a snake in the grass. I dont know, hes an idiot. Anyways, you will say "Yes but the bigger serpent is well off." This is the password. He will lead you to a back room where you will floo to London, Hogsmeade station. I'm sure you've read about it in those stupid books you read. It is the only all wizarding village in Brittain. Here I need you to pick me up some things.
"Okay, what's with me having to travel all over hell's half-acre, just to wind up in one town...When I could just floo there. Or take a portkey.. or.."
"Do not be incompetent Raine, you know very well that if you apparate, which you cant, mostly because you're still underage, and portkeys could be traced. Also, people watch the floo network like hawks, so you will have to take a few detours before you can safely arrive at your destination, undetected. Am I clear?"
"Crystal. So what is it you want me to get anyways...?" You asked him clamping and unclamping your hands into fists at your sides. Nervous habit.
"I need you to take this key" he said, pulling a very old looking brass key fron his robe pocket and putting it on the desk "And go to Gringotts bank. Get one of the disgusting creatures to take you to vault '4910' and take out ten thousand galleons. Use this bag, so each will only weigh a fraction of an ounce. Otherwise, well you'll never get back. Nextly, I want you to travel down to Knockturn Alley where I need you to purchase two of everything on this list." He handed you a battered peice of parchment that looked as though it had went through five world wars, and still managed to survive.
"That's it? So I dont have to tell anyone my name do I.. because that would sort of ruin the..."
"No you dont, the foul creatures at Gringotts pay no mind as long as you have a key, and the people in Knockturn alley are... all mostly acquaintences as you'll find out."
"Fine, well when do I leave. Dont you think I should leave when all this heals up because that will at least ensure me avoiding confrontation and strange questions as to why I look like I've just been ran over by a hippogriff." You told him gesturing to your mauled face.
"Yes, I thought as much. I beleive a week will be suitable for your injuries to heal completely, I dont suppose there were any breaks were there?" It looked as though he tried to sound slightly sympathetic but he ended up sounding hopeful.
"No, no breaks. And I'm sure a week will be fine, I'm going to go back to bed now, if you dont mind. "
"No, I do mind as a matter of fact. I need you to go somwhere for me today. There is a man that should be coming shortly, just as the other one did yesterday evening during the storm. I need you to do exactly as you did then. And again, if he refuses, kill him. And make it painful, just try not to be so messy like you were that time in .."
"Yea, yea. Whatever. When's he coming?"
"Six, and if he's late you can kill him then too. I dont need people that arent where they're supposed to be on time. Now leave me, I need to find Wormtail so he'll milk Nagini, she's getting a little hostile." You nodded your head. Even though you were off to get someone to join or kill them again, the second time in two days that is, you still felt a little exhilerated. You were finally going somewhere where you wouldnt have to see blood or a decapitated head or stupid overgrown albino's that beat people to a pulp. Score. In fact, you were sure he probably wouldnt notice a little bit of his money missing.. maybe you would go buy something for yourself. After all, this oppurtunity didn't come along a lot.. or ever actually.
You let yourself out of the door and went to go find something to preoccupy yourself with until 6, where you would carry out your wonderful duties and be allowed to live another day.