Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but just a few other characters. Like before, I own Cassidy Valeska and those two other mentioned people, Lilith Hermione and Damien Benjamin. I do also own Troy and Lucifer Malfoy, some people you'll see a lot later on. Oh, and purely just in this chapter, I own Joshua, Travis and Hadrian, and that's it. No last names, nothing.

This story is going to go back into 1998, the Trio's seventh year (sixth for Ginny), and it focuses completely on Cassidy before the "accident." I have yet to decide if I'm going to explain it in here or not, (probably will, knowing me. I just like to contradict myself a lot). It focuses mainly after the accident, but a great deal of it is described in the memory.

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Chapter Summary: The eternal nightmare plagued her every sleeping moment until she could finally breathe in the glorious air. It stung her lungs and snatched her back to reality, only for her to find that the nightmare...had really happened.

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Just one note: The majority of the italics are Cassidy's accident/memory. The italics within the regular font are, obviously, Cassidy's thoughts. Just thought you'd like to know.

So, I think that it's only appropriate that we START!

House of Drawn Shades
By Darkwing731
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((--Chapter One--))
The Eternal Nightmare

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October, 1998

There was hardly any light at all filtering through her nightmares; the only thing penetrating the darkness was the excruciating pain crashing over her in horrible tremors. Blinding heat rippled through her skin, seeping down through her veins and washing through her blood. Her back arched again for the millionth time that night, and she let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Hadrian, RUN! They're here! Someone stop them!"

Awful bile rose in her throat; the earlier liquid that had been forced down her throat making her sick. She coughed, and tears splashed down her face as a painful wail escaped her chapped, cut lips. She let out a shuddering sob, and started screaming again as her skin changed, transforming slowly. The pain conquered every inch of the pale porcelain complexion of her body. Staggering pain consumed her; a dagger-like pain punctured her left arm and she struggled, screaming and gasping for air. Her lungs were fighting for oxygen, but she couldn't breathe. Her whole body was changing.

"Travis, didn't I say this would happen?" There was a blinding crash and a scream from the stairwell.

"NO! Joshua! They killed him! Someone please help us!"

Travis lunged for her and tackled her to the ground as the door slammed open, and the murdering Death Eaters stormed into the room, followed by a sea of green light.

Agony like she had never imagined slowly piled up inside of her. Her blood was white-hot, a pain so intense her body was on fire. Suddenly, she was racked with a stabbing feeling over every inch of her body. She struggled against her restraints, screaming, her back arching and sending her nearly a foot off of the crimson sheets on the bed. Her wrists went red and raw as she unconsciously fought the binding ropes. She had to get away.

Blood trickled out of her mouth, pouring out of her nose and sticking to her skin and neck. The already red sheets gained an even more scarlet hue that would forever remain stained. Her fists clenched and unclenched. Abruptly, like an internal disease, a fire was started within her and pain like she could never remember, never imagine, flowed through her like the hellish flames of the underworld. Her body trembled, her skin rippling and her body screaming for air. But it wasn't finished yet.

"Oh God...oh God..."

"WHERE IS SHE?"

"She's gone! She left! I swear to God she isn't here!"

"CASSIDY VALESKA!"

"She's left!"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Travis crumpled to the ground after the blinding spell hit him. Cassidy foolishly jumped from her Death-Eater-free haven, screamed, and collapsed at his side, sobbing.

"No...no! TRAVIS!"

"Idiot girl!" The Death Eater roared with laughter. "See what you've done? You've killed him, you worthless piece of filth!"

"No! You killed him! I never did it! I was—"

"You just as well killed him!"

"That's a lie!"

But tears streamed down her face anyways; she knew it had been her fault.

Her throat was closing up. Her chest was hurting and the pounding of her heart was incredibly loud. Let it stop... Her face was screwed up in agony as she felt a fresh tremor attack her body, washing over her until the pain was so intense she couldn't gather enough breath to scream. Her body thrashed uselessly, and gasping, she screaming out, slowly ending in a wail for help that was incoherent.

Gradually, it subsided; the blinding pain that had engulfed her whole body for as long as time had started slowly diminished. She felt the stabbing pain in all of her body reduce to a vicious throb that still resided in her body, in every single one of her nerves, pounding behind her temples and sending shocking pain through her head just as the last of the torturous heat had left it. She could almost see the lightning flashing behind her eyes, fighting her mind and beating it to death.

Her body slowly stopped fighting; she lay still on the bed, panting, blood sticking to her hair and neck and face like a crimson flower in intricate patterns. Her fingers curled into a fist and her knuckles turned white. Her legs coiled awkwardly underneath her, demanding she stretch the long-forgotten muscles. Boiling blood cautiously pumped through her veins, bringing her slowly back to life and letting her body relax freely. She let out a soft moan, her lungs breathing in fresh new air and helping her circulation continue even faster.

Her body hurt incredibly. Her insides were throbbing and felt like white-hot coals had just been removed from her skin. Her skin prickled unpleasantly as the new pain registered itself in her mind and she slowly felt it come back, though not as bad as before. Somehow this was new; was it second class, or something completely different?

"Let go! STOP! LET GO OF ME!"

"See those people over there, Valeska? Do you recognize them, you filthy little—?"

"Leave them alone!" They were her parents; nothing bad could happen to them; no harm could come to their souls.

"Oh, I'll leave them alone." The white twisted, gnarled mask of the Death Eater leered at her. She could sense the bastard was smirking at her.

"Imperio!"

Suddenly she was consumed by complete bliss. Everything around her was non-existent, nothing mattered anymore. All she knew, all she could hear, could see, could sense, was the sweet voice beckoning to her.

Kill them...

She wanted to obey. She knew it was what needed to happen.

Onlookers screamed in utter fear as they watched the horrifying scene before them. The girl, clad in a silvery-blue uniform, slowly rose off the ground. Her toes fell and brushed the floor with her black-heeled shoes. Her left arm extended, her fingertips were trembling and outstretched. Her midnight black hair flowed behind her like rippling water. Her eyes aglow with an eerie white light, a silver aura pulsed around her and, sending waves of people down onto the floor, added to the mass of deceased littered in groups of the foyer.

Suddenly green light flew from her fingertips. A shrill whistle was emitted as the Green Death traveled, people scrambling and falling before it hit its target. A tall black-haired woman and a broad-shouldered man fell to the floor. The black-cloaked Death Eaters roared with delighted, malicious laughter.

Her body fell to the ground from a sudden strong pulse of the mysterious aura. It crumpled beneath her and pain washed over her. Her knees ached and she felt like she had been cuffed harshly over the head with a particularly heavy object.

Her eyes filled with unwanted tears. She looked up. Her pupils suddenly widened in spite of the bright green light hitting the hundreds of screaming people around her. She could hear nothing regardless of the mass chaos and murder in front of her.

All she could see was the dead bodies of the familiar faces that she had grown up beside:

Her parents.

Another moan escaped her lips, and sweat trickled over her forehead and down her neck, leaving a trail of white skin through the thickly coated blood. The fresh crimson liquid slowly replenished itself and there was no mark of the perspiration that had traveled through it.

Every pore in her body was suddenly drenched in sweat, and a cold clammy feeling overtook her. The crimson sheets, already stained in blood, were now adorned with sweat as well. It seeped through her clothes and the sheets cocooning her absorbed the new liquid. Beads of it were falling gracefully over the arch of her neck and shoulders before they dropped off onto the elegant bed.

Her fingers clenched and unclenched again. Her breathing was fast and shallow, coming in short, ragged gasps that stung her throat. Her lungs demanded even more oxygen than before, but she could not oblige. Her body wasn't working properly; she felt as if she had no control over herself as she struggled to regain consciousness and see for herself what was wrong with her.

"Mum...oh God, Mum..."

Tears trailed down her cheeks. Cassidy started crawling awkwardly for her parents before an excruciating kick to the ribs sent her tumbling over, her ribcage blossoming in fiery pain.

"You foolish little girl! You think you can get away from me?"

The Death Eater was extremely angry with her. His voice was hoarse and had the edge that implied barely-controlled rage. She let out a sob and clawed the floor in an attempt to drag herself to her parents.

"Dad...please, Dad, don't be dead..."

Suddenly, painful neon lights erupted in front of her eyes as the sharp kick to her stomach brought her reluctantly back to the reality in front of her. The hell that she was living in, the torture she could never escape, was now a horrifying reality.

"Stupid little girl! Stupefy

Blackness consumed her and that was all she ever knew.

But now the pain was different. The horrible, stabbing feeling had finally left her body and a low throb occupied every nerve now. The former liquid shoved down her throat suddenly started rising again. She felt like vomiting and getting the horrible substance out of her body.

She clamped her eyes tighter still, and tried willing the horrible pain away. Her whole body felt as if it had been consumed by white-hot fire. Her head was pounding, painful and burning, and incoherent, confusing thoughts whizzed through her mind before she even had the time to grasp the mere concept of them. Her body started shaking violently, and suddenly, she was lurching and she felt the horrible substance in her stomach come up. It then forced itself back into her stomach, making her sicker.

All she wanted to do was get away from the horrible pain, but there was no escaping it. Her body naturally tried to curl into the fetal position but the ropes binding her wouldn't allow it. Thick tears fell fast down her cheeks, smearing over the blood and washing some of the scarlet hue away from her skin. Her blood seeped, molten hot and fierce, through her veins, while rage built in her throat and she felt as if she wanted to scream at some non-existent person. She squirmed in the bed, sobbing, fighting the restraints as the single onlooker in the room watched in fear.

Ennervate

And suddenly, she was quite awake. Cassidy opened her eyes, groaning, and pain blossomed all over her and dimmed to a low throb through her body and she started sobbing all over again.

She was in impenetrable darkness, and she felt hands groping her body, accompanied by malicious laughter and seemingly drunken yells. She thrashed about, screaming, trying to worm her way free from the cruel and molesting pairs of hands that were wandering her body, but she couldn't move.

"Enough! Get away from her! The Dark Lord says to bring her straight to him!"

Cassidy recognized that it was the voice that had made her murder her own parents. Fury engulfed her mind and senses, and she started screaming as she was picked up. The laughter and yells quieted, but she refused to.

Kicking and squirming still, she vaguely heard a yell in response to her screaming, but could do nothing about it. She wailed louder in hopes that the caller would help her.

The Death Eaters dragged her over rocky earth where sharp rocks jutted out from the ground beneath her, scraping and scarring her skin. She flailed her momentarily free arms before a sharp kick to her already-fractured ribs caught her screaming and struggling uselessly against the pain.

Her eyes suddenly grew aware that she could dimly see figures moving to and fro constantly on a sort of mountain cliff that was across the earthy path she was being dragged on. She could see the flames of a violent bonfire dancing high up into the air like a free spirit.

Abruptly, she was engulfed in the darkness of the night. A pair of strong hands grabbed the collar of her shirt from the back, and a second later she was thrown into a wall. The collision caused her to slide back into the unconsciousness she had come to know so well lately.

Sweat trickled down her neck and between her breasts. Every inch of her was covered in the cold perspiration as the haunting nightmares took hold of her, threatening to never let go. She tossed her head, breathing shallowly. Her hair stuck to her cheek and forehead as the fever grew higher, causing her to dive into delirium.

But the sickness would have to wait, for something else had to work its magic upon her.

Not for the first time that night, her fingers clenched and left shallow marks in her palms where blood slowly came to surface into the air. Her toes curled, and she yelled out in agony. Her body was still shaking violently, slowly climaxing to the worst of the oncoming pain.

Her stomach lurched, and however frequently she gagged and coughed, her body refused to let her vomit. Her back arched as the white-hot pain consumed her again. Excruciating agony slipped into her like a dagger between her ribs, and she sobbed into the pillow before whimpering and yelling out. Her stomach lurched violently, and even as she retched, it was useless.

The sheets were twisted around her legs, revealing the thin, raggedy cotton nightgown on her body. Falling to her knees and her forearms, it was cut modestly on the neck and had an elegant frill to every hem. However, because of her squirming, the end of the dress was shoved up to her waist, her sleeves pushed up past her elbows, and the neck falling so the well of her bust was visible. The nightgown was drenched in sweat, therefore causing it to be nearly transparent. However, the other occupant of the room took no notice, being female herself.

Cassidy was still unconscious even as she fought desperately to get away from the pain. Searing, blinding agony had slowly consumed her fingertips, washing over her hands in threads of torture and delicately working its way up her arms in feather-like strokes. Her fingers clenched, but they felt as though thumbtacks were being forced into every inch of her skin. Her body was numb.

It was like hell when she finally woke. She was aware that she was sprawled on the floor in a spread-eagled fashion. She groaned and rolled over, only to find herself constricted by rusty shackle restraints.

Terrified, she sat up and tugged, ignoring the withering pain flowing inside of her body. The shackles were loud and made an unctuous sound that was unnerving. The loud clanking, however, seemed to have attracted people, for the door across the room opened.

Three people stepped in. The middle was the tallest and thinnest, flanked by two other broad-shouldered Death Eaters with white leering masks. In the middle, she realized with a jolt of absolute terror, was the one that had been ripping her life apart slowly: Lord Voldemort.

His cat-slit red eyes glared at her with malicious delight dancing in the crimson hue, for there were no pupils. His scaly face gleamed in the torchlight that was supplied from the far left wall. His billowing robes were even intimidating.

"Cassidy Valeska, is it?"

His voice was high and greatly resembled the hiss of a snake. The hair on the nape of Cassidy's neck and on the back of her arms stood up almost instantly. A shiver went up her spine. She whimpered.

"Do you realize that you are worth very much, especially to the Dark Side, Cassidy?"

He glowered menacingly at her, and she felt her body cower. She looked at the ground and tried to pull herself into a ball, but the shackles prevented it.

"I know that I am right in assuming, and knowing, of course, that you would want nothing to do with the Dark Lord, having slowly pulled the threads of your life apart. This is why I have another use for you, my dear Cassidy."

She looked up, fear in her eyes, and watched in horror as he slowly drew a wand from the inner pockets of his thick cloak. His raised his arm; his eyes narrowed at her, his face twisted.

And before she even knew what happened, her body slumped against the wall, just mere milliseconds after the incantation had been uttered.

The pain was building higher. Her head throbbed so loud that it was worse than the beating of a drum. Every excruciating sound ever known to mankind played through her ears and she screamed out, as the migraine grew steadily worse.

But that wasn't her main focus. Her body was slowly tensing, her muscles growing stiff and refusing to move. The pain gracefully flowed over the curves of her nerves and muscles, winding over the arch of her shoulders and neck before spreading down over her chest in intricate patterns. It connected in threads of light near her stomach before twisting and curving artistically over her thighs and legs. Her neck grew taut and rigid; the tendons suddenly were more prominent that it was seemed impossible. She shuddered, the last voluntary movement her body could offer her before her face was frozen in the blinding white light. The painful, excruciating light slowed considerably as it neared her feet, and little by little, finally seeped into her toes.

And then the pain was horrible, worse than it had ever been before. Her insides were white-hot, her hair feeling like fire, as well as every single one of her nerves. She felt so awfully tortured she couldn't see straight (had her eyes been open). The liquid in her stomach boiled in sickening bubbles, revolving and slowly rising up in her throat. The sickness was caught in her throat and she started choking.

Thumbscrews were winding their way through her muscles and bones, splintering the marrow that held her body erect under her skin. Tendons and ligaments were sliced in half and cut into fractions before they pieced themselves together again, just to be brutally ripped apart.

The pain mounted higher and higher, until she felt as if she was lying in a fire itself. Anguish seared into her skin, carved with the sharp, jagged edge to any dagger, blood seeping through the wound and drenching anything it reached. She felt as if she would rather die than live on with this, felt as if she could go no longer—

There was a deafening roar in her ears, a strong gush of wind and she felt as if she couldn't feel anything.

Suddenly she was aware, and extremely relieved, that pain no longer coursed through her. Her body was occupied by the dullest of throbs, yes, but she was no longer screaming. Her breathing eventually slowed to a deep gasp before she breathed in the glorious air normally. Her senses flowed through her body like a master calling to its dog, and they obeyed. Her hearing returned and she slowly slipped into consciousness.

Everything was hazy when she first opened her eyes. A soft, sort of misty fog clouded her cornea, and she had to blink numerous times before she could see anything properly. Her eyes grew round, her pupils dilating, as she looked around her.

She was lying beneath an extravagant and intricately made ceiling. Above her, carved into the soft wood, were miniature figures of pagan angels, wings attached to their backs, their naked skin glowing. Other figures adorned them ― animals, by the looks of them ― old bearded unicorns, dancing on hind-legs, frolicked through the clouds of the little children, giving off a sort of comfortable and welcoming disposition.

She looked around in the bed she was in. It was about king sized, covered in a silk white comforter with complex and carefully made patterns of flowers, blossoming and miming each other with each cautious stitch. She was lying in crimson sheets, which were twisted right around her thighs and calves from her emotional and painful outbursts.

Warmth was spreading quickly through her, and she felt the demand for food conquer her mind. Suddenly, though, remembering her dream, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine the horrifying nightmare again, wondering if it had really happened or if it was just paranoia lurking dangerously in the back of her mind.

Everything had been so bright, so surreal. She remembered the screaming, fearful faces of the many people, so many of them falling in heaps, never to move again. She remembered screaming as she had watched her own companions die before her eyes, listening to others screaming as it had happened.

But worst of all, she remembered the murder of her parents, whose own faces she couldn't even recall.

She opened her eyes, feeling surprised tears spring to her eyes quickly. It was just then that she noticed the other presence in the room, who was walking slowly towards her and pulling up a chair.

It was a woman in — what looked like — her late thirties, maybe even early forties. She had silky blonde hair, bright as the white sands of the exotic oceans, and it cascaded down her back like water. Her fair skin was pale, almost weary. Her crystal blue eyes were dim with exhaustion and fatigue.

The woman's ideal figure was barely slumped in the chair as her eyes roamed critically over Cassidy in the bed. Her thin, perfectionist-looking eyebrows rose reproachfully.

"You're an awful mess," she said. She sounded as if she was trying to contain as much contempt as possible, but she was having a particularly hard time doing so. "We'll have to get the house-elves to wash you up later," she sighed.

She suddenly sat erectly again, her eyes narrowing as the girl in the bed looked at her, her eyes gleaming with questions.

"Who're you?"

Her voice sounded hoarse, as though she had been screaming excessively. Otherwise, her voice was soft and timid sounding, although it sounded as if it had the confidence to rise to a shout at any given moment.

"Me?" the woman asked reproachfully, sounding as if she couldn't believe her ears that the girl asked the question. "I am Narcissa Malfoy." She sounded quite arrogant about this. Cassidy had an urge to roll her eyes, but resisted.

"And me? Who am I?"

The girl suddenly remembered that she had absolutely no idea who she was, where she was, and what had happened beforehand that led her to come to this place. Hell, she couldn't remember anything, period!

"You're Cassidy Valeska." The name sounded very familiar, somehow, and the girl, (apparently her name was Cassidy) found it very fitting for herself.

"And where am I? Why am I here?" Cassidy asked, her voice still weary but quickly gaining strength.

Scowling slightly, Narcissa answered her. "You are in my home, the Malfoy Manor. You're here because we're — that is to say, my husband and I — are your godparents."

"Godparents?" Cassidy echoed, sounding confused.

"Yes, godparents," Narcissa sneered. "In your parents' will it stated you should be handed to us should anything happen to them."

Narcissa gave a small, nearly inaudible sigh, and Cassidy swore that she saw confusion in her eyes for a moment before it disappeared just as quickly.

"What do you mean, if anything should happen to them? What happened to my parents?" Cassidy asked quickly, her heart racing. She couldn't help but imagine the awful nightmare that had plagued her mind.

Narcissa gave her a long, cold look.

"Cassidy," she said finally. "Your parents are dead."

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A/N: Okay, well that was the second chapter! It took me so long to write, and sorry about that, because it was kind of repeating the same thing over and over again, (pain, duh), and giving it multiple descriptions that satisfied me enough, (which took a long time, too) and made sure that I could successfully twist her only memory in there so it makes enough sense to me and confuses everyone else!

Thanks to Kels for beta-ing this for me! You're great!

Review please!