Flashback

My birthday was always a special day.

The smell of delicious sweets wafted throughout the house, tiramisu and macaroons were being made by the dozens for the guests to be arriving today.

Gold and blue decor was spread out through the house, on the banister polished to its finest, the walls usually decorated with paintings of my family instead hung banners that stated it was my birthday.

Father promised that he'd be here as soon as he could, he said he'd bring me dozens of presents to make up for the lack of time of him being here.

My friends were supposed to arrive here today at noon,they were so very excited to come to our manor.

Bright golden sparks of energy flew in and out of the rooms causing a delightful chaos.

My room was filled with hundreds of dresses that I could choose from, mother already gave me her opinion, so of course I was going to choose that one.

My hair was braided by my personal house elf Effie, it was perfect, a crown around my head laced with blue sparkly ribbon.

I slipped on the lacy blue gown that poofed up around my legs.

Then I pulled on the golden flats that went alongside it.

" ! You look wonderful!" Effie says her little ears bouncing as she clapped her hands excitedly.

"Thank you Effie!" I grin.

I grab a blue ribbon adorned with sparkles and tie it around her ears.

"B-but ," She stutters.

"It isn't clothing Effie-no instead it is a decoration that is now apart of your uniform," I say wagging my fingers at the elf.

I tend to always see through the loop holes.

She grins at me.

Before I go downstairs I want to get mother and show her my dress-the one she picked.

I leave Effie to pick up my room so that I could go find mother.

She told me that she wanted to get dressed alone and that she'd come downstairs when she was ready-but I was too excited to not get her now.

I skip down the long hall to my parents- well I should say my mothers bedroom as father is rarely home.

I knock on the dark wood that is the door leading into their room.

I stand impatiently tapping my foot outside her door waiting, just waiting for her to open the door.

"Mother," I call knocking again.

Still no response.

"Mommy!" I hadn't called her that since I was 6 but I was trying to get her attention.

Maybe she is in another room?

I reluctantly back away from her door going next door to the guest bedroom where party favors laid on the bedside table for my friends.

She wasn't in there.

I go down the hall to each room on that floor aside from my mothers room.

She wasn't in any of those rooms.

Finally I circle back to her bedroom and decide to go inside.

Her bed was made, her clothes that I helped pick out untouched on the bed.

She wasn't in this room.

Her bathroom door was closed.

Perhaps she was in there?

I slowly made my way to the other side of the room to the bathroom.

I knock on the door and receive no response, the water wasn't running, not a sound came from inside the room-not a single drop of water.

"Mother?" I say as I slowly open the door to her bathroom.

"Mommy-," I said my voice shaking with concern.

She was in here.

Laying on the floor, naked and motionless.

I made no sound my throat choked up with nonexistent tears.

Her chest wasn't rhythmically rising and falling just as mine was instead hers was still.

As still as stone.

I let out a bloodcurdling sob rushing to her side, her wand discarded nearby, but I didn't understand why.

Did she try to save herself from something?

I felt hands on my shoulders, my fathers voice coaxing me to leave her side, but I wouldn't.

She was still there, she was still alive I didn't care what the facts said.

She was alive.

At least in my mind.

She needed me, I needed her.

Who else was going to help me fall asleep when the nightmares would come?

Who else would sing those soft lullaby's to rock me slowly but surely to sleep?

Who else would be my mother?

I was ripped away from my mothers slowly temperature dropping body.

My screams sound through the house, my father blocking my view of the only parent I truly knew.

Taking the only love-away from me.

End of Flashback

"Hey..." I hear a voice bring me back to reality.

No matter how much I wanted to deny it that memory was my reality, I just live in a new one.

Hermione looks down at me a cautious expression on her face.

"You're here? Why are you here? Aren't you afraid that Draco would come find me?" I ask her peering around just in case he was anywhere around us.

"Don't worry, he's busy in the Owlery sending off a letter," she says.

I let out an exasperated 'oh' as she sits down beside me.

"You never told me about your mother," she states.

"What happened?"

"My mother...killed herself the day of my 9th birthday, she was right you know-Skeeter that is...but she wasn't right about the way she died."

I sighed looking at Hermione, her eyes were prickled with Sympathy.

"Everyone wondered how I was when she died," I go on.

"Some went far enough to make up the emotions I felt, regret, sadness, anger, but in all honesty...I was empty.

My mind was blank, nothing mattered anymore, I never got excited or happy.

I learned to not get attached to anything because it was likely not going to be forever.

My father sent me to dozens of therapists after I stopped eating and talking.

He even suggested a memory charm or even putting me under the imperious curse-that's when I started eating again, it took me three months after that to start talking...

But I did.

Every time someone would talk badly about my mother or they said something that wasn't true about her, I'd yell at them.

So when Skeeter got that wrong I snapped."

"She deserved it Abby, she shouldn't have cornered you like that," Hermione says her hand on my shoulder.

"I don't deserve you," I murmur.

"You do deserve me," she says replacing her hand with her head.

"And I deserve you."