Chapter 9: Pain

The room, the dark, the fear, the pain.

It rushes back with a vengeance.

Agony.

It burns through me.

"Where is it!" Bellatrix shrieks.

The fang of the basilisk, the one we used to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes.

She wants it.

I don't know why, but she desperately wants it.

"Tell me!" she yells once again.

But I don't know.

I don't know where it is.

It was a long time ago and that day was so chaotic and with only two goals; destroy Voldemort and stay alive.

The curse is lifted, only for a moment, and I find it within my last bit of strength to cry out: "I don't know!"

And it startles her.

I don't know.

Maybe she will finally kill me.

Maybe.

And the pain is back.

A fire has alighted within my body.

I writhe.

Thrashing my body against the ground, tears stream down my face.

I scream until the last croaking sound from my raw throat leaves me, and it becomes a shrieking whisper.

It burns.

Every nerve is alight with agony.

She always lifted it before, but not this time.

This time, she is angry.

She is angry at my lack of knowledge, because she finally realized that I don't know.

I want to die.

I can't . . .

I can't do this. . .

Can't handle it anymore . . .

I am losing myself.

I want this to be over.

The pain, eating me alive from the inside out.

I want to die.

I want to let go.

The pain . . .

It's too much.

And I feel myself fading, feel myself losing my thoughts, losing my mind.

Distance.

I feel my consciousness pulling away, retreating back, separating itself from torment surrounding every sense.

Darkness pulls at the corners.

Life fades.

My only hope is that death will take me soon.

And it stops.

I'm barely conscious but I can hear his screams.

Malfoy stopped it. He stopped her. He took the pain on himself.

I struggle to breathe, struggle to stay in the room.

Because now, he is in that agony.

But I can't.

The pain is still too great.

And no matter how hard I try, I feel myself slipping from consciousness.


The world lights once more and the pain slowly fades away until I can feel the sand beneath me and hear the rush of the waves.

Quickly, I wipe the wetness from my cheeks with the backs of my shaking hands.

"Are you alright?"

Malfoy.

He is once more beside me.

And once more, I am confused.

I don't understand him, or who he has become.

"I . . . I think so," I reply, heart still hammering in my chest.

I can't look at him.

I don't know why he did what he did, so I stare out at the ocean and pull my knees up to my chest.

He's silent.

I want to know why.

Why would he do that?

Why would he take that curse for me?

He clears his throat, hearing my questions in my thoughts.

"There are more important things than that."

Now, I am even more confused.

"There was more to that memory than what I did," he tells me.

"The fang," I recall, though I really want to know about his actions rather than hers. But, I'll play along. I turn my gaze back to him. Maybe I can catch a hint in his eyes. "Why would she want it?"

"Think about where it came from, the story behind it."

I consider it.

It came from the basilisk and was able to destroy the Horcruxes.

But that doesn't explain why Bellatrix would want it.

"Go back farther," Malfoy commands.

I roll my eyes at his firm words, but do what he says.

The Chamber of Secrets.

Ginny.

She was possessed and Harry went to save her.

That's when we first learned about the creature.

"Farther," he says.

The time it was opened fifty years prior.

Tom Riddle.

He commanded it. It was practically his.

"There."

"I still don't understand. The basilisk fang was indirectly Voldemort's possession? Why would Bellatrix want that?" I ask.

"Because everything else was destroyed beyond use."

"Beyond use for what?"

There's a pause.

I feel his fear.

It's as though he thinks saying it will make it real.

Maybe it's something else.

But he's afraid.

Why is he afraid?

"Promise me something," he says quietly.

"Alright?" I'm a little uncertain.

"Promise me that you'll keep trying to remember, that you won't. . . panic. I need you to keep trying to remember everything you can. You are not allowed to freak out, not allowed to freeze. If you know this, know that there is only one thing you can do about the situation, here, and nothing else. Remember." He looks straight at me, his eyes searching mine. "This . . . situation. You can't directly do anything about it here and you have to be okay with that. Tell me you're okay with that."

He's scaring me.

No, I'm not okay with that. Not really.

But I guess. . . I guess I can be logical enough to accept it.

"Alright. I'll keep trying to remember. I won't panic." I say the last part timidly. I can't necessarily promise that.

But I want to know.

I need to know.

Malfoy takes a deep breath.

"Bellatrix was only the first. The test-run if you will," he starts.

"What do you mean?"

The gears are turning in my mind.

What is he trying to say?

There will be more of these evil people coming back from the grave?

What does the basilisk have to do with any of it?

The gears click into place.

I do what Malfoy made me promise not to.

My blood runs cold.

I freeze.

Eyes wide.

"You promised," he whispers.

I can't say it out loud.

And now I know why he didn't want to either.

So I ask him in my mind.

Am I correct.

For merlin's sake, please tell me I'm wrong.

He nods his head.

And my world explodes.


Author's Note:

Hello you shining stars. Thank-you so much for coming back and reading chapter 9! I hope you have had an awesome week.

What do you think it is that they are both too afraid to say out loud? Did you figure it out? Let me know what you thought of the chapter! A lot of it was written yesterday and was actually supposed to be part of the next chapter, but I wanted to give you guys the chance to guess, so, send me your thoughts!

Thank-you so much to my two readers who always review; lun27 and sshanholtzer44. I love you guys and your thoughtful comments!

You probably don't really care, but I'm now on spring reading break, off from school for the next week, so I'll be able to breathe again! Exciting! Also means that I'll be able to reply sooner than I have been.

I hope you guys have a great week! I'll be doing a lot of sleeping, a little homework, a little writing, and I'll have the next chapter up next Sunday.