A/N: Hi peoples!! Yes, I'm back in hell--er…I'm back home, so here's the new chapter! School starts back the FIFTH (hello sophomore year…) so my writing time will decrease. I've been planning everything out in my head for a while now though, so get ready for plot twists. Until then, read, love, review (I say that too much, don't I? I need to find a new catchphrase…)
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Draco Angor
Chapter 4
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Severus Snape apparated into the hallway of his house, the small pop echoing around the large space. He threw the dirty rag he had been holding under his bloody nose on the ground in anger before walking over to the large mirror set up against the wall in front of him. His nose had swollen a considerably amount (an amazing feat since it was already bigger than any normal person's), and three of his teeth had been knocked out. Blood stained the area around his nose and under his chin, but the blood itself had stopped flowing. He frowned at his reflection and braced his hands against the wall on either side of the mirror, his gaze turning downwards to the floor. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, his hands clenching into fists. He gritted his teeth, the words Draco Malfoy had yelled at him echoing around in his head.
Murderer…
Snape lifted his head and looked around wildly for the source of the sound.
"Who's there?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly.
Murderer…
The voice was closer now and Snape was able to distinguish where it was coming from: the mirror. Snape looked up and was shocked with what he saw. It was his reflection, for sure, but the pose was different. The reflection was leaning against the frame of the mirror with it's arms crossed over it's chest and one foot crossed over the other with a cold look etched onto it's face.
"What the hell...?" Snape pushed off from the wall and took a step back, his eyes still riveted on the reflection before him.
"Murderer," The reflection said to him again.
"He deserved it," Snape replied coldly. "You know what he did to her."
"But did you have the right to end his life?" The reflection spat back.
"You're not going to make me feel guilty," Snape replied sharply. "Not after all the shit he put me and Mother through."
"You still murdered him," The reflection glared back. "In cold blood, when he couldn't defend himself."
"Shut up," Snape muttered in a low voice as the reflection let out a harsh laugh.
"Murderer," It shot back, chanting the word over and over as Snape continued to glare at it.
"Shut up," He shouted at it as the chanting got louder. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
He reared back and punched the mirror, silencing the laughter as the shattered pieces of the mirror fell on the floor at his feet. Snape dropped to his knees, the shards of the mirror cutting into his legs as he clutched his bleeding hand to his chest. His gaze was once again turned to the ground, his eyes wide open and his face drawn in a tight grimace. After a moment, his eyes shut tightly and tears began to fall down his cheeks as he sat in the darkness of the silent house, no one noticing his inner anguish, and no one really caring at all.
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I woke to candle-light filling the room and immediately pulled the green blanket over my head. The two things I hated most were Lucius, and light. I let out a groan when I realized the bright light still filtered through the blanket and turned over onto my stomach in another attempt to block out the brightness. A huge weight suddenly weighed down the foot of my bed, so I rolled over to see what it was but I kept the blanket over my head so all I saw was the silhouette of a girl. This narrowed my choices to Ginny or Hermione, and I could guess which one it was. To make sure, I pulled the blanket down and looked up at the girl, squinting against the light. I was right about it being Hermione, but she was wearing something I had never thought I'd see her in: Black shorts (incredibly short shorts) and a red tank top with a black bra showing under it. Her hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun with a few locks sticking out here and there. She was standing at the edge of my bed with her hands crossed over her chest, looking down at me with a sad look on her face.
"Good morning," I said to her with a yawn, folding my arms behind my head. "Any reason why you're scantily dressed and standing on my bed?"
"Sorry," She sighed. "An owl came to my window with a letter for you, and I thought I'd give it to you right away."
She pulled a folded letter out of a pocket in the back of her shorts and handed it to me.
"I was wondering if there were any mirrors in this house..." I muttered as I took the letter from Hermione and pushed myself up until my back was leaning against the headboard, crossing my legs. Hermione sat down in front of me and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. I ignored the letter for a moment and looked around the room with a yawn, noticing that Potter's bed was empty and neatly made.
"Where's he?" I asked, nodding my head towards the crimson bed.
"Harry?" Hermione asked. "Oh, he wakes up at around six every morning. He's probably downstairs."
"What time is it now?" I questioned. I had left my watch at Malfoy Manor, and I wasn't going back to get it.
"Nine in the morning," She replied.
"You couldn't wait an hour?" I groaned, before I looked down at the letter. It was from St. Mungos. I tore open the envelope and pulled out single folded piece of paper.
"Mr. Malfoy," I read softly. "We are terribly sorry for the loss of your mother, Narcissa Malfoy, and would like to inform you that her funeral will be held at noon on December 7th, at the private cemetery where all of the Malfoy's are buried. The message has been sent to your other relatives, and we hope you can make it. Sincerely, Bernard Pyre, Healer."
I lowered the letter and looked up at Hermione.
"What's today?" I asked her.
"The fourth," She answered after a moment of thinking.
I let out a cold laugh.
"What's so funny?" Hermione asked with a raise of her eyebrow.
"The irony of the entire thing," I answered, tossing the letter on the floor. "My birthday's on the seventh."
Hermione looked taken aback for a moment, before she turned sideways and rose so she was standing next to my bed.
"So are you going?" She asked me as I threw off the blankets and stood next to her, my gaze focused on the planks of wood beneath my bare feet.
I shook my head slowly.
"No," I answered. "I don't think so."
"Why not?" Hermione asked.
I raised my head slightly and looked at her through the curtain of my hair. I answered with a shrug.
Hermione sighed and nodded.
"Breakfast is probably ready," She said with a quick smile. "Come down when you want."
I nodded once before Hermione flashed another supportive smile and apparated out of the room.
I stood there for a moment, my eyes focused on the letter at my feet before I went to my bag and pulled out another pair of jeans and a green T-shirt. I went to the bathroom and looked at my shoes, which were still laying on the floor with the pile of my bloody clothes, trying to determine whether or not I should put them on. They were simple black sneakers, but they were stiff with dried blood that created dark brown stains on the material. I changed into the jeans and shirt before leaving the bathroom, deciding I'd just walk around barefoot for the time being. I threw the pajama bottoms on my bed before leaving the room, extinguishing the damned candles with a wave of my hand. I went down to the kitchen, finding it only occupied by Potter, Hermione, Ginny, and Daisy. Nine plates were out on the table, five of them half full and one of them empty completely. Hermione had changed into jeans and a black fitted T-shirt with a black wrist band covering the scar on her left wrist. Ginny was wearing clothes similar to Hermione's, and Potter was wearing a dark red long-sleeved shirt and jeans. They were eating silently while Daisy was sweeping the floor with a broom nearly twice her size. I walked over to the seat in front of the empty plate and sat down, filling the plate with random food set in platters in the center of the table. I looked around for a while as I was eating before the silence started to annoy me.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked, my voice sounding deafening after the long silence.
Potter jerked his head towards the fireplace.
"Work," He answered simply between bites.
I nodded in response before turning back to my food and allowing the silence to fall over the five of us again.
"So what do you all do when the others are gone?" I asked after the silence began to annoy me again.
"Come up with ways to torture small children and animals," Ginny shrugged.
"You're kidding," I said.
"How'd you guess?" Ginny said with a smile and a soft laugh, pushing her plate away as a sign that she was done. "Usually we're not the only ones here. Fred and George entertain us when no one else is here, but they had problems at the shop and had to leave."
"So there's nothing to do?" I groaned.
"Nothing much," Hermione answered. "We found a library on the second floor a while ago filled with books you could read, but it's kind of old."
"You 'found' a library in the house?" I smirked. "How do you 'find' a library?"
"Most of the house was boarded off and hidden behind the walls," Potter answered. "We don't really know why, but they did."
"Odd," I muttered. "Have dark wizards lived here in the past? They could have blocked everything off to protect dark artifacts"
"Always a possibility," Hermione replied with a shrug. "The people who used to live here were relatives of yours, actually."
"Sounds like the Malfoy clan," I sighed, putting my fork down and pushing the plate away even though it was still half-full of food. "We're just full of murderers and back-stabbers and wife-beaters."
"Apparently there's a black sheep every now and then," Ginny said to me with a smile. "Eh?"
"Apparently," I answered with a small laugh.
"So what're we gonna do all day?" Hermione said with a whine. "Everyone else doesn't get back 'til three."
"I thought the twins were coming back at noon?" Ginny asked.
"That's still three hours without entertainment," Hermione muttered.
"I have an idea!" Ginny yelled, standing quickly and raising a finger into the air. "Let's play Truth or Dare!"
Hermione and Harry exchanged a glance before dropping their forks, getting up at lightning speed, and running out of the room through the open door. Ginny looked after them for a moment before slowly turning her head towards me, an evil grin on her face. I stayed still for a moment before jumping over the table and following Potter and Hermione out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into the spacious living room. Hermione was turned sideways in a plush blue chair while Potter was sprawled out on the floor, his hands crossed behind his head. I walked over to a blue sofa and collapsed onto it, propping my feet up on one of the ends and my head onto the other.
"So what're we gonna do for three hours?" Potter sighed, taking his glasses off and cleaning them with the end of his shirt.
"I'm gonna go back to sleep," I replied with a yawn. "Wake me up when it's not so boring."
"You do that," Hermione muttered. "Bye bye."
I closed my eyes and rolled over onto my side, burying my face in the tattered cloth of the couch to block out the light filling the room. I drifted off to sleep in less than five minutes, allowing the nightmares to take me again...I just hoped they were less bloody this time around.
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A/N: Poor Snape…Maybe I'll make him play a bigger role now…Chapter 5 should come out soon. Now review before my evil army of chocolate destroys you all. NOW I SAY!! Kidding…about the chocolate thing anyway…But seriously review and wish me luck in sophomore year, 'cause I already know it's gonna suck…Grrrrrr…Bye (Please keep in mind that I'm tired and running off a sugar high induced by Pepsi, so any random things I say I apologize for right now. Now good day.)
