Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one.
In this story, let's pretend that certain events didn't happen:
Dumbledore is still alive. Snape is still at Hogwarts. Draco is still at Hogwarts. Takes place in Draco's seventh year, making him seventeen.
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sweet suicide
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"mors mortis"
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He was shaking so badly. "Breathe in; breathe out," he instructed himself. Slowly, he pulled himself into an upright position. Closing his eyes, Blaise tried to rid himself of the images that had troubled him for days.
Theodore had been the one who had screamed. Blaise was too stunned to move, let alone let out such a keen sound. It seemed that Draco had unlocked the bathroom door, and moved out into the dormitory. He was now lying on the floor, not moving. He was so pale. Paler than he normally was. His platinum blonde hair was messy, and strands of it were sticking up. Blaise had thought he was sleeping at first until he realized something was very, very wrong with his friend.
A thin, red line was drawn across his throat. Blood had seeped out from the wound, dripping onto the now stained carpet. His gray eyes, open and blank, faced upward. His mouth was pressed tightly into a thin line, suppressing pain. Emotional or physical pain, Blaise did not know. A small pocketknife was on the floor next to him.
Theodore had gone into the bathroom since he had been convulsing. Not noticing the state the bathroom was in, he entered the small room where he found a trail of blood on the floor. His curiosity led him to the bathtub. Drawing the curtains aside, he began to hyperventilate. "Blaise…" he rasped out weakly, and then fainted on the floor. Blaise mobilized himself, and began walking slowly towards the bathroom and bathtub. The sight sickened him.
The bathtub had been destroyed. Scarlet and black waters mixed with each other at the bottom of the tub. Crimson liquid trickled down the sides. Drip. Drip. Drip. The sides of the bathtub were scarred. Blue liquid adorned the tap. Chunks had been torn out, and were now lying on the floor. Looking around wildly, Blaise found that Draco had written all over the walls in black ink. The words, "They're coming for me," were decipherable. Blaise shuddered.
The once ornate room now resembled a disaster zone. Several tiles had been lifted from the floor and were broken into sharp pieces. The bathroom mirror had been smashed. A nasty smell was radiating from the room. Blaise tried to carry Theodore out of the atrocious smelling room, but he just wasn't strong enough, so he had no choice but to leave Theodore. Walking out into the dormitory, Blaise could hear footsteps below. People were coming. He sat down cross-legged in the corner next to Draco. Transfixed, Blaise surveyed his dead companion. The sleeves of Draco's robes had been pushed up. The Dark Mark on Draco's left forearm glared at Blaise, as if blaming Draco's death on him. Rough red lines crisscrossed this way and that. Old scars and new cuts overlapped each other, caked in dry blood. A thick, jagged "X" was carved into the Dark Mark, ripping the wretched tattoo in half.
Bang! The doors of the dormitory burst open. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape stood in the hallway, peering into the room. Blaise paid them no mind. He was staring intently at the vile snake engraved on his friend's arm. "Don't give in, ok? Don't give in." Their conversation earlier in the morning echoed in his head. "…Just promise me that you won't submit to them, okay?" "Alright, I promise."
"Mr. Zabini. Snap out of it." Professor Snape was standing over him, with a strange look on his face, snapping his fingers. Blaise blinked, dazed.
"Professor…" he whispered, before the strange smell of the room overwhelmed him, and closing his eyes, he fell into unconsciousness.
It was only later that Blaise understood what the room was reeking of. It was the stench death.
Blaise opened his eyes, and glanced at the bed next to him. Theodore was mumbling and thrashing about in his bed.
"Ted," he hissed. "Ted!"
His friend's eyes snapped open. His eyes looked around wildly.
"Ted, it's only me, Blaise."
Ted blew out a sigh of relief. "I thought it was… never mind."
"What did you think I was?"
"Nothing. It's stupid really…"
"Well, tell me anyway. Everyone else already thinks we're crazy. What have you got to lose?"
Mumbling.
"I'm sorry… I didn't quite get that."
"I thought it was Draco," he explained in a barely audible whisper.
They both sat in silence, Ted reminiscing; Blaise thinking.
"What are the both of you doing up at this hour? You both need your rest. You've been in a traumatizing experience! You need to go to sleep!" Madam Pomfrey's voice came screeching from out of the blue.
Blaise and Theodore quickly ducked under their blankets, and hid from the wrath of the nurse. Upon seeing their heads go under the sheets, Madam Pomfrey sighed, and went back to her room. Blaise fell back asleep after an hour or so, but Theodore lay there for what seemed like an eternity, listening to Blaise's even breathing, before falling into a fitful slumber.
They were both allowed to leave the Hospital Wing the following morning. Madam Pomfrey had been drowning them in potions, so they complained to Professor Snape that they were fine, and ready to leave the safe confines of the Hospital Wing. The Professor agreed. After a lot of yelling, an ill-tempered Madam Pomfrey left her office, entering the small ward, and allowed the two Slytherin boys to be on their way out. A smirking Potions Professor escorted them back to the Slytherin's domain.
Many curious glances followed the trio while heading down towards the dungeons. Word must have spread that something huge had happened. Professor Snape glared at them while Blaise focused on the back of Theodore's robes. Ted was mumbling to himself, completely oblivious to the stares they were receiving. Before they reached the entrance to the common room, Snape pulled them aside to tell the two of them that the news of Draco Malfoy was to stay as quiet as possible. The other Slytherins had been good at keeping their mouths shut so far. Pausing briefly, the Professor also told them that if they ever needed to talk to someone about this, they could go to each other or go find a professor for comfort. With his sneer back in place, Snape let the two of them back into the common rooms. "Mors mortis." (1) The password had been changed while they were gone.
Stepping tentatively into the common room. Ted noticed that it was quieter than usual. The fireplace was ablaze, and people were sitting in the large velvet emerald armchairs, but no one was doing anything remotely interesting. Many of the Slytherins were staring at the fire, or closing their eyes, as if fatigued. Ted had no idea that Draco's departure affected them so much. Upon entering the dispirited room, many people looked up, staring a little too intensely that Theodore felt himself shift. Blaise headed straight for the stairs to the boy's dormitories, unfazed.
"You can't go up there," Daphne called out.
Blaise spun around. "Why not?"
Pansy joined the conversation. "It's been blocked off because the professors don't want anyone to go up there. They are looking for clues or something that might help explain Draco's…" she swallowed, "Draco's passing."
Bluntly, Blaise said, "He committed suicide. Simple as that."
Pansy gasped, and her eyes filled with unshed tears. Daphne hit Blaise on the arm. "You insensitive, bigoted jerk," she hissed, and led a trembling Pansy away, whispering foul things about Blaise.
"Ow," Blaise scowled, rubbing his left arm.
"Well, you deserved it. You were being quite callous."
"Oh, shut up Milli."
"I agree with her, Blaise."
Blaise groaned. "Not you, too, Ted! I was just telling the truth!"
"Well, maybe the truth isn't always the best thing to say."
"She needed to hear it from someone, at one point or another."
Millicent and Theodore shared a look.
"Look. Just because you have accepted the fact that Draco decided to leave us, and that it hurts you, it doesn't give you the right to spread the pain to others who have been worrying about you!"
"She's right you know…"
Staring incredulously at Ted, Blaise exclaimed, "What are you, Ted? Millicent's groupie? And all right, I'll go tell Pansy that I'm sorry for being… what did Daphne call me? Oh right, 'an insensitive, bigoted jerk.'" He started to leave, but he was pulled back.
"What!" he yelled, annoyed.
"Lower your voice, will you? The entire common room is staring at you people."
Looking around, Millicent, Theodore and Blaise noticed that Vincent was correct. Many were gaping openly at the threesome as they argued. All three of them glared, and everyone turned away quickly.
"I was going to tell you that… ," he continued, "I doubt Pansy wants to see you at the moment, and Daphne might throw something at you. Besides, don't say you're sorry until you really are sorry. Or else Daphne might curse you and Pansy might hex you. Now that wouldn't be pleasant, would it?"
Blaise stared. "… Since when have you started giving advice, Vince?"
Vince shook his head. "It just seemed like the right thing to say at the time."
Ted clapped Vincent hard on the back. "You cease to amaze me, dear boy."
They stared at him. "You sound like my father, Ted," Blaise said cautiously.
"I was hoping for that effect."
"Oh."
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A few people from the Order were in the Slytherin boy's dormitories. They were searching for anything that Draco might have left behind. One person was in the bathroom, trying to figure out what Draco had written on the walls. They were careful not to break anything, and they were being very cautious. After all, a Death Eater had been living in the very room just a few days ago.
"Remus, come here, take a look at this," Tonks said in a low voice. She had just uncovered an envelope sealed with wax.
"What is it?" Remus carefully maneuvered his way across the bedroom, being careful not to step on anything and break it.
"It seems to be a letter of some sort…"
"Really?" Remus took the envelope from Tonks, and examined it. He ran his fingertips lightly over the wax. He turned it over. Long, elegant letters in green ink were on the front. "Exanimus Serpens," he whispered.(2)
"What does that mean?" Tonks asked, looking over Remus's shoulder.
"I don't know… we can ask Albus."
"We should show this to the professor. He will want to see if this is the last thing Draco ever wrote. It could contain some information and the answers we're looking for."
"True," said Remus thoughtfully, "but we might want to let Albus decide if we are to read this. This could be for Draco's friends and family, and it would be bad if they knew we read it before them."
"We should show this to the boys who found him. I heard that they weren't doing too well, murmuring in their sleep while they were in the Hospital Wing, I think. Reading the letter might give them some peace of mind."
"Good idea."
And the both of them turned to the other occupants in the room, told them what was going on, and quickly left for the Headmaster's office.
Author's Note: Chapter Two.
(1), (2): Feel free to look up the words... 'cuz I don't feel like telling you. :-)
By the way, I'm not sure if the Latin is correct... if you find out
that it is incorrect, please tell me so I can change it. Thank you...
And thanks for all the nice reviews.
Wow, that chapter was pretty
long… especially for this writer.
I don't know when the
third chapter will be up. Hopefully by next week-ish? Maybe two
weeks. It all depends on school work (tests are coming up).So… until next time!
-waves cheerfully-
