Pain
OK we got a new computer but my dad didn't bother saving the shit I had so I had to restart this chapter.
Leah sat in the workroom of the Heads Dorm. She was sitting at the piano and was trying to write a new song. She couldn't think of anything. She really hadn't had any major experiences that had compelled her to write anything lately. She just decided to play the piano part for Year Ago Today. She changed it slightly and soon was planning a completely different song.
Draco walked into the common room. The first thought in his mind was that he wanted something to eat. Then he heard the piano. Curious as to what Leah might be doing, he slowly walked to the workroom and pushed open the door. He looked at Leah and slowly walked up behind her. The paper in front of her was blank but the song she was playing wasn't one she had already sung. He had lived with her for a month now so he knew what songs she had and what ones she didn't.
"Hey." Draco said, suddenly remembering why he came here instead of the great hall. Leah looked at him. "Dumbledore's approved."
"Of what?" Leah asked.
"That big Halloween bash you wanted." Draco said. "He told me to tell you that so long as you can get everything you need for it, then it can go on."
"Really? Cool." Leah said. "The only stuff I still need are the drinks and food."
"House elves can get those." Draco said.
"Oh right yeah." Leah said. "I forgot about them." There was a pop and Julie jumped and watched as two house elves rolled around on the floor, fighting.
"Take it back!" Dobby's squeaky voice shouted.
"What the hell?" Leah said. "Ok separate!" Kreature jumped away from Dobby.
"Bloody hell is that…" Draco said.
"You're old house elf." Leah said. Dobby looked at Draco and screamed before hiding behind Leah. "Whoa…what the heck?"
"He is a bad, bad man." Dobby said.
"I would rather have him as my master then her." Kreature said.
"Kreature why on earth are you even here?" Leah asked, staring at her elf with confusion.
"The headmaster sends a message with Kreature." Kreature said.
"What did you do to get Dobby to attack you?" Leah asked.
"He talked bad about Harry Potter." Dobby said. "He says that Harry Potter is a spoiled brat."
"Alright then." Leah said.
"Is mistress going to make Kreature do something else he does not like?" Kreature asked.
"Just give me the damn message and get back to the fucking kitchens." Leah said. Kreature handed over the note from Dumbledore and disappeared. "Dobby, from now on, just ignore him alright."
"Yes, Miss." Dobby said. He bowed and disappeared as well.
"My old house elf…works here?" Draco said.
"Yeah…has been for the last couple years." Leah said. "Ever since fourth year. Kreature is officially my elf now, seeing as how he belongs to the Black family and I'm the youngest."
"Oh." Draco said. "So…what does Dumbledore want?"
"Umm…" Leah said. She looked at the note. "He wants me in his office." She stood up and left the workroom.
"When are you going to be back?" Draco asked.
"Dunno." Leah said. She went to her room. It had blood red walls as well as a queen sized bed with maroon, satin sheets, burgundy pillows with gold trimming, and a red canopy that draped all around the bed and hung from the ceiling. Leah changed into jeans and a grey tank top. She brushed her hair and left it down before walking out of her room. She didn't see Draco anywhere in the rest of the Dorm so she peeked in his room. It was exactly like hers except green where hers was red and silver where hers was gold. Draco wasn't there either.
Leah figured he was probably at the meeting that she was going to be invading. She walked down the hall and around a corner to Dumbledore's office. She said the password and walked up the stairs.
"Good evening Miss Black." Dumbledore said.
"Hi." Leah said. She sat down.
"I was a little hesitant to ask you back. After what happened last time." Dumbledore said. Leah shivered. Last time she had been sent into Bellatrix's body and Narcissa almost figured out that it wasn't exactly Bellatrix that she was talking with. Leah was pretty much able to control everything Bellatrix did now. It could be a bad thing sometimes, especially is she showed up in the middle of a conversation.
"Don't worry." Leah said. "Just pass me the thing and I'll be fine." Dumbledore still seemed reluctant but he handed over the necklace that Leah normally used now. She closed her hand around it and closed her eyes. She felt the tug and opened her eyes to find herself standing in a circle of death eaters while Voldemort spoke to them.
"But my lord, who do we get rid of first?" A Death Eater said.
"Who do you think we should dispose of first Bellatrix?" Voldemort said, looking at Leah. Shit!
"Umm…" Leah said, glad it was Bellatrix's voice that came and not her own. "Whoever you choose my lord." She bowed.
"Good try." Voldemort said.
"Wha…what do you mean?" Leah asked.
"Thank you for that information Narcissa." Voldemort said, looking at a Death Eater. He turned back to Leah. "Who are you?"
"What do you mean?" Leah asked. "I am your faithful servant."
"No you aren't." Voldemort said. He moved towards her and Leah took a few steps back. Leah wound up with her back against a wall and Voldemort towering over her. "You may be in her body…but you are not Bellatrix." He pulled out his wand. "Who are you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know." Leah said. This time is was her voice and she gasped because of it.
"I see. You want to make this hard." Voldemort said. "Very well. I have ways of persuasion."
Dumbledore sat in his office, watching Leah. He wasn't sure what to do. Leah had started looking like she was having a nightmare but when he tried to get her to come back, every time he touched her, he's get a shock. Someone was stopping her from returning. Dumbledore had no doubt that it was Voldemort stopping it.
"My god." He said, standing up so fast his chair fell over. Leah had suddenly received three cuts on her face and a number of them over her arms and chest. If that wasn't bad enough, the alarm that Dumbledore made to go off if someone was going to enter his office during these times…it went off. Someone was coming to his office. The only teacher that knew about this was McGonagall. It was, after all, her idea.
"Albus." McGonagall said, opening the door. Dumbledore seemed slightly relieved.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Remus Lupin is here." McGonagall said. "What should I say to him?"
"I don't know." Dumbledore said. "But he cannot come up here. Only you know about this." He nodded at Leah. McGonagall walked into the room and gasped. "Something is wrong. She's not returning."
"What can we do?" McGonagall asked.
"Wait and hope." Dumbledore said. "Hope that she returns before it's too late."
Leah groaned as she hit the ground once more. She shook her head to get Bellatrix's dark hair out of her face. The only plus side to this was that Bellatrix was gonna be hurting like a bitch as well.
"I'm going to ask you one more time." Voldemort said. "Who…are…you?"
"If you haven't figured it out by now…then you're even stupider then I thought." Leah said.
"Stay where you are." Voldemort said as a few of the Death Eaters moved forward. "Well. Seeing as how I can't control you to make you tell me. And torturing you isn't working."
"What are you going to do?" Leah asked, standing up. She could only stand on one foot since her left foot twisted slightly a while back.
"I'll just have to kill you." Voldemort said.
"You…you wouldn't risk killing Bellatrix." Leah said, her eyes widening.
"Wouldn't I?" Voldemort said. Of course he would risk it. After the mess up at the ministry, Bellatrix was no longer Voldemort's favourite as she so bragged.
"Ok…I think my time here is up." Leah said.
"I don't think so." Voldemort said. He advanced on her again. Leah closed her eyes and used all her remaining strength to focus on getting back to Dumbledore's office. She felt relieved when she felt the tug and opened her eyes to see Dumbledore and McGonagall standing over her.
"He knows." Leah said, before fainting.
Leah spent the next few days in a small chamber off to the side of Dumbledore's office. He didn't want her to go to the hospital wing so Leah was in the chamber sort of meditating the whole time. She was pretty much in seclusion, except when Dumbledore had food brought for her. After a week of seclusion, Leah went into Dumbledore's office and sat in front of his desk, looking at him. He finally looked up at her.
"If you're feeling guilty about sending me there…don't be." Leah said. "I went on my own free will. If anyone should be blamed it's me."
"But…" Dumbledore said.
"Nope." Leah said, shaking her head. "It's my fault I went, therefore it's my fault that I got hurt. You said I could refuse, and I didn't. I could have, at any time. The fact that I didn't, makes all this…" She pointed to the cuts on her arm. "It's all my fault. Not yours." Dumbledore nodded.
"I must say, you have grown up quite a lot since you first arrived here." Dumbledore said.
"Like I keep saying…there's no way to go through what I've gone through and not change." Leah said. "All the deaths…the pain…everything…it's just made me grow up. I'm not the eleven year old girl who's greatest thrill in live was to meet the guy that, by all rights, should have been sent to live with me and my mom once Lilly and James died."
"He hasn't lived with the Dursley's since his seventeenth birthday." Dumbledore said. Julie tilted her head. "He's alternated between the Burrow and Headquarters during the summer."
"Hmm." Leah said.
"That was the greatest thrill for you then." Dumbledore said. "What is it now?"
"I don't know." Leah said. "Can I go back to my dorm or do you think I should stay in seclusion for a little longer?"
"You may return to your dorm." Dumbledore said. Leah stood up and headed to the door. "I dare say Mr. Malfoy will be happy to see you again." Leah stopped and looked at him. Dumbledore just sat there, smiling. "Oh…and of course Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny will no doubt have missed you as well."
"Umm…ok." Leah said. She left the office and walked to her dorm.
"Password?" The snake asked.
"Sierra." Leah said.
"Sorry…it's been changed." The snake said.
"Why was it changed? Shouldn't I know about this?" Leah asked.
"You didn't know?" The griffin asked. Leah shook her head. "Oh. Well…go in then." The statue moved to the side and Leah walked into the common room...and found Draco fast asleep, only wearing Jeans, on the couch, lying on his stomach. His arm was off the couch, as was his leg. He looked…adorable.
"Oh my god." Leah said, slapping her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. She walked over to the couch and kneeled down by Draco's head. Leah pushed her hair behind her ear. Draco mumbled something and moved and that's when Leah saw it. She grabbed his left arm and pulled it to look at it better. Draco woke up.
"What are you…" He started but stopped dead when he saw the look on Leah's face.
"When did this happen?" Leah asked, pointing at the Dark Mark on Draco's arm.
"I…" Draco said.
"You know…don't even." Leah said. She dropped Draco's arm, stood up and went up to her room.
"Leah!" Draco called. She ignored him. The slamming of her door made Draco wince. He looked at the mark on his arm. He never wanted it, but with the way his mom was acting, there was no way for him NOT to get it. He had succeeded in hiding it from Leah for the last two weeks, before she seemed to disappear for the most recent week. Draco looked at the mark closely. It wasn't even done right. It was actually done really fast so it was pretty much just a lopsided Dark Mark.
Leah woke up the next morning, got changed, then left to the great hall before Draco was even out of his room. She found Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny near the middle of the table.
"Guys I gotta talk to you." Leah said. "And I when I say that, I mean NOW!"
"Oh my god Leah what happened to you?" Hermione asked.
"I'll explain later. Outside now!" Leah said. She slid into the spot next to Ginny. "Then again…stupid foot."
"What happened?" Harry asked. "You've been gone for a week. Dumbledore said something about some music stuff but we figured he was lying because every time you do some kind of performance then the Prophet always tells about it."
"It wasn't a performance." Leah said. "He was telling a lie so that people won't get suspicious." She stood up again. "I'll tell you guys the truth. The whole truth. But we have to go somewhere where people won't over hear."
"So where do you think?" Ron asked, as soon as they got outside.
"Shrieking Shack." Leah said. "I'm head girl. I can go anywhere. If you guys go with me then it'll all be fine." They walked, Leah limped, to the Whomping Willow. Leah made it freeze and they went, single file, into the tunnel once they made sure no one would see them.
"Isn't it haunted?" Ginny asked.
"No." Leah said. "All those noises were Remus." Getting into the house was a little difficult for her because everything still hurt. "My dad used this place in third year. He'd get Crookshanks to get me and bring me down here. But I never remembered the visits." She sat down on the steps while the others all found chairs.
"So what's wrong? What happened?" Harry asked.
"Ok…the main reason why I needed to talk to you guys was…because you were right Harry." Leah said.
"About what?" Harry asked. It was very rare that Leah ever said he was right, ever since the ministry.
"Malfoy." Leah said. "I went back to my dorm last night. He was asleep on the couch. He has the Dark Mark."
"WHAT!" All four of her friends yelled.
"He has the Dark Mark. Not the best one I've seen but it's definitely there." Leah said.
"Did he do this to you?" Harry asked.
"No." Leah said. "Voldemort did." She told them what happened.
"But how did you get there?" Hermione asked.
"Because…" Leah said. She sighed. "Because I was in Bellatrix's body."
"How?" Ginny asked. Leah sighed again. This was going to be hard. She told them everything that she's been doing for the past year. Why she's been going to Dumbledore's office all the time and coming back with a cut or two. It took her a whole hour to explain it easily as possible. Once she was done, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were still a little confused but they seemed to understand.
"Why haven't you told us?" Ron said.
"I didn't want you guys to worry. Or bitch at me." Leah said. "I kept imagining that you guys would react badly to it. Worse then how you reacted to me dating Blaise."
"I don't know. We reacted pretty badly." Harry said.
"Well you don't have to worry." Leah said. "I decided that I'd break it off with him."
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Well…it's not fun anymore. And I think the initial point got across." Leah said.
"What point?" Ron asked.
"The point that Gryffindors and Slytherins can get along perfectly fine." Leah said. "I mean like…ok so not everyone is getting along. But at least Gryffindor and Slytherin aren't in constant battle now."
"True." Ginny said. "Like the quidditch match that we had before you went into seclusion. Between us and them and it wasn't like we were trying to kill each other anymore."
"Exactly." Leah said. "It's sorta like…Gryffindor going against Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. There's competition but not super ultra mega competition."
"What's with you and adding more words then necessary?" Ron asked. Leah shrugged. "I think we have to get to classes now."
"It's Sunday." Leah said.
"Oh right. Sorry." Ron said. Leah just shook her head. They left and decided to visit Hagrid. "Does he know?"
"No. I told you. Only McGonagall knows because she came up with the idea." Leah said. She knocked on the door.
"Just a second." Hagrid called. He threw open the door. "What the bloody hell happened to you!" Leah jumped. "Come in." The five teens walked in and sat down in unison. "What did you do Leah?"
"I just…" Leah said.
"She was being careless." Ginny said. "You know. Gone for musical purposes over the last week."
"Ah. Well you should be more careful." Hagrid said. Leah shot Ginny a 'thank you' look. Ginny just smiled. "Hey…you lot want to see Buckbeak?"
"Sure." Harry said. They stood up and went out to the pumpkin patch where Buckbeak was relaxing. They all bowed, Buckbeak bowed back, and the girls went forward to pet him.
"Hey Leah. There's something I don't get." Hermione said.
"What?" Leah asked.
"If your family is…well…dead. Does that mean you don't get that feeling thing anymore?" Hermione asked. "And the weird power thing where your necklace glows and stuff?"
"I…don't know." Leah said. "I haven't really thought about it." She absently pat Buckbeak's neck. She had no clue what she could or couldn't do anymore. Leah went through the rest of the day without even thinking about what she was doing anymore.
Ok so I'm stopping there. Shorter chapter then normal. I have a question…it's not going to happen for a few chapters but I wanna know if I should have Harry, Leah and Draco fight with Voldemort and the Death Eaters before the end of the year or not. If not…then what should they do? I gotta have something that'll make Harry…kinda like Draco.