...

Ebony awoke the next morning to the sun streaming across the room. It took her a minute to realise that she was still on the floor. She rolled onto her back, regretting the movement instantly as sharp, stinging pains shot through her body. She groaned. Her father was a right dickhead.

She tried to sit up, her body numb from the night spent on the floor. She used her bed as support to pull herself upright and clung onto it as she regained the feeling in her arms and legs. After a minute of clinging to the bed frame, she shuffled over to the door and went to pull it open but found it locked. "The fuck?" She muttered to herself. She tried it again but to no avail.

Bastard.

She shuffled back across to her bed and curled up on top of the covers. It wasn't the first time she'd been locked in her room and usually, it only lasted a couple of days so Ebony decided to simply wait it out rather than anger her father further by pounding on the door.

She spent the rest of the day lying on her bed, watching the daylight slip away. Her stomach growled, she'd eaten nothing all day. Luckily, she frequently got thirsty in the night so had a goblet of water on her nightstand so at least that was something.

She wondered if her mother had returned from wherever she'd disappeared to, the house was quiet so she presumed not. It was strange, her mother disappearing out of the blue. Her parents didn't leave the house a whole lot, any events or meetings were more often than not held at home. When they did go out, they did so together so as to not leave the other in the unpleasant company of their child. Wherever her mother had disappeared to, Rodolphus was not happy about it.

...

After what she reckoned had been about three days, the house exploded with sound. Her mother was home then. Bored of pacing around her room, Ebony knelt beside the door to try and hear what was being said in the shouting match below.

"You don't own me!"

"Forgive me for wanting to know where my wife had disappeared to for half a bloody week!"

"It's none of your business where I went!"

"As your husband, I'd say it is most certainly my business!"

"If I had it my way I wouldn't be married to such a pathetic lump of a man!"

"You think I wanted this? No one in their right mind would want to marry a woman so batshit crazy!"

Ebony jumped as there were several loud crashes and then a man screaming in pain. Then a thud and a woman screamed.

She crawled quickly away from the door and tucked herself in the corner with her knees to her chest and her hands over her head. She scrunched her eyes shut, wishing it would all just stop. She wished that there was no more screaming or yelling. No more fighting. No more locked doors. No more pain. She wished for a house that wasn't dark and lonely. She wished for a mum who smiled and a dad who told jokes. She wished that there was another way, that this wasn't the life that she was stuck with, that maybe, just maybe, she could be something more. Something good.

Her stomach gave a loud gurgle. More importantly, she wished for some fucking pancakes.

...

It soon became clear that she wasn't getting out any time soon. Ebony wasn't quite sure how long it had been since she ate but her stomach cramped and her mouth was dry - the large goblet beside her bed had lasted her 2 days. She was almost pleased to see her father when he entered her room carrying a plate and a glass. He set them down on the dresser by the door. She sat up on the edge of her bed waiting for him to leave so that she could satisfy her hunger.

"Learned your lesson yet?"

"That's what you're calling this?" Ebony knew it wasn't a good idea to speak back to her father but she was bored, hungry and fed up. Her father just glared. "You were such a mess I'm surprised you even remember what happened."

His fist had collided with her face before she even registered what she'd said. The force knocked her off the bed and her head met the floor with a loud thud.

"I thought you at least had enough intelligence to know when to keep your mouth shut. Apparently not."

"I get that from my mother." She looked up at him with a smile, ignoring the fact that her ears were ringing and the room was spinning. He glared back.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?"

"Apparently not."

Another punch and it all went black.

...

Ebony woke sometime later with a pounding in her head that made her feel as though she might puke. There was dried blood on her nose. It took her a minute to remember why the hell she was on the floor. Then it came back to her, a couple of snarky remarks mixed with her father's short temper. She was a fucking idiot. Thirteen years of the same shit and she seemingly had not learned a thing. Maybe if she just kept her mouth shut then she wouldn't be in such a mess to start with.

She really didn't want to move but she soon caught sight of the plate a cup sat on top of her dresser. Merlin she was starving. She hauled herself up, clinging to the bed frame as spots danced across her vision.

The plate held nothing more than one measly slice of bread but she didn't care and wolfed it down regardless, stopping only for a moment to enjoy the feeling of having food in her stomach. She then downed the water in one gulp, closing her eyes with pleasure as the liquid soothed her dry throat. It was only once she'd finished that she realised she should've rationed it, after all her parents were completely unpredictable when it came to remembering that they even had a child. It was too late for that and besides, she figured she could last another day and then she'd be on the train back to school.

She stumbled back over to the bed, trying desperately not to throw up. She clambered under the covers and decided to try and sleep off her headache.

...

"Oi."

Ebony opened her eyes - or more specifically eye, her left one seemed to want to remain closed - to see her mother standing in the doorway. "Nice to see you again mother," She croaked.

"Lovely to see you too, you little shit." Her mother replied, a smirk on her lips. Ebony almost smiled, it was nearly somewhat affectionate. "Train leaves in 3 hours, you can floo to the station on your own." She said turned to leave. She stopped for a moment however and turned towards her daughter. "And stay out of your father's way. He's in a worse mood than normal ."

"Yes, ma'am," Ebony mumbled as her mother left. She smiled to herself. She rather liked the idea of going to the station on her own, it meant no unnecessary hanging around watching Narcissa fuss endlessly over her son.

However, it wasn't until she tried to stand up that Ebony realised how much of a challenge getting to the station was going to be. As she stood up the room swayed beneath her feet and she relied on the bed for support. Bile rose in her throat. Well, this was going to be fun.

...

Ebony stumbled along the platform, the noise around her making her head pound. She found the first open compartment that she could and collapsed onto the seat. She'd made it. At long last.

Her vision was slipping in and out of focus and her head felt too heavy for her neck. She thought she might throw up, despite her stomach being empty. Ebony just curled up into a ball and buried her head in her arms, her body was exhausted and she just wanted everything to stop buzzing.

...

Someone was gently shaking her shoulder. Her eyes flickered open and she was met with the kind smile of Neville Longbottom. "Tired?" He asked, with a grin. "You slept the whole way."

"Didn't think I was that sleepy." She returned his smile and sat up, stretching. His expression changed almost most instantly, his grin replaced with a look of horror.

"What happened ?" He seemed to blurt it out unintentionally. Ebony shot him a confused look before remembering that she couldn't really see out of her left eye. She hadn't actually had a chance to look at herself before she left, she was more focused on not passing out.

"Is it that bad?" She said wincing.

"It's pretty bad Eb. In fact, you look...awful."

Ebony gave a dry laugh. "Thanks."

"I think you should see Madam Pomfrey."

"Well if you help me up then I will, alright?" She didn't usually bother going to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey never asked too many questions but she had a look on her face that made Ebony's stomach tie itself in knots. The truth was though, she felt like utter shit. Every inch of her was aching, burning or somewhere in between.

Neville held out his hand and helped pull her to her feet. She grabbed his arm tightly as once again the room began to spin and her vision went spotty.

"Ebony?" Neville's voice sounded like a distant echo that was swirling around her. Her knees were threatening to give way.

"'M fine." Was all she managed to utter before collapsing.

Author note: I'd first like to thank everyone for sticking with this story, it honestly means a lot. Hope you are all safe and healthy. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.

Keep smiling everyone xx