Padfoot's Puppy
Chapter Two
'The Meeting'
Amber jumped, standing straight up when she noticed the dog. She had managed to grab a rock as she stood, and was prepared to hurl it at the dog. Only when a pitiful whine escaped the dog's throat did she pause, relaxing a bit. She knew this dog.
"Don't you ever do that again!" She exclaimed, her arm dropping shakily to her side, still grasping the rock so tight her knuckles were turning white. The dog cocked his head slightly, his long tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Every year, just before Draco got out of school, Narcissa and Lucius rented a cabin. The cabin was near a huge forest, and every time they were there, Amber spent all her time exploring the forest.
This year, on her second day back, Amber had come across the dog caught in a rabbit snare. Carefully, she had managed to free the dog, and bandage his paw. Since then, the dog came to see her every day, to listen to her talk and to explore with her.
"You're too quiet! You should have made some kind of sound as you were coming up to me Mister!" Amber scolded, using her nickname for the dog. With a sigh, Amber sat down, her arms around her knees. The dog walked over to her and nudged her arm lightly with his nose.
"Or else I was too deep in thought again!" She said; sadness evident in her voice. With another sigh, she rested her head on her knees. The dog whimpered softly and sat down on the rocks, raising one paw and resting it on Amber's arm. Amber forced a smile. Whenever she got sad, the dog always did that.
"I can't help it Mister, my life hasn't exactly gone the way I planned it to go." Amber said, tears filling her eyes. The dog whimpered softly, as if encouraging her to go on.
"I never get to see my parents, I'm sure I'm never going to see them again! I can't go to school, I don't have any actual friends, and the people I live with hate me!" She said, loathing filling her voice. The dog stared at her, his eyes filled with what looked like pity. That can't be, he's just a dog, he doesn't know what I'm saying, and he defiantly can't pity me! Amber thought. Suddenly, for reasons unknown to her until much later, she was filled with rage for the dog, rage like she had never felt before.
Jumping to her feet, Amber glared angrily down at the dog. The dog stood up, confusion evident on his face.
"Get out of here you stupid dog, get!" Amber yelled, pretending to go kick the dog. In a second, the midnight-black dog jumped out her reach, his eyes filled with a look of betrayal.
"Get out of here and stop pretending you care!" Amber yelled, grabbing the rock she had intended to throw at him only minutes ago. With much force, she hurled it at the dog. The dog yelped loudly as the rock found its mark on his left hind leg. Amber grabbed another rock.
"Get out of here!" She yelled, getting ready to throw the rock. With a look that Amber was sure was a glare; the dog disappeared into the trees and out of sight.
Slowly, Amber fell to her knees, watching where the dog had disappeared into the trees. She sat there for close to fifteen minutes, not moving a muscle, thinking of what she had done. Why was I so angry? Mister didn't do anything to me! It just felt like, it felt like, well, like he was my father! But that's impossible! Mister is a dog and my father is defiantly not a dog! Amber thought, shaking her head viciously. Don't be so sure… a voice said at the back of her mind.
"That's crazy! My father is probably dead, and there is no way in hell he could be a dog!" Amber cried, her voice filled with anger. Staggering to her feet, she shook her head again, trying to clear her mind.
She wandered around aimlessly, lost in thought. Occasionally, Amber glanced over her shoulder to see if the dog had followed her. To her relief, he hadn't. Well you did hit him pretty hard with that rock. She thought to herself.
She felt bad for hitting the dog, but there was another part of her that was glad she had. It felt as though some of the anger at her father that had built up over time had finally been released. Amber didn't know why, it hadn't been her father, just some stray dog.
When her thoughts finally cleared, Amber realized she was in a strange part of the forest. True, she did explore much of the forest, but she usually stayed pretty close to the cabins, in case something happened.
Trembling slightly, Amber paused to study where she was. The trees were closer, casting a bigger, darker shadow on her. She shivered and unsuccessfully tried to zip her sweater up. Finally, frustrated, she gave up and walked on.
"Up ahead, Amber could barely make out a clearing through the trees. If she got there, she would be able to read the starts and figure out how to get back to the cabin.
Her mother had taught her how to read the stars ever since Amber was old enough to talk.
"It was your father who taught me how to read them. He loved to spend hours just staring at the stars. He used to point out all the constellations to me." Her mother had said; a pained expression on her face.
Amber stopped before she reached the clearing and listened hard. She was sure she had heard something, not the wind, something else.
No, it defiantly wasn't the wind; it sounded like voices, low, hushed voices. Slowly, Amber inched closer, curious to know what the voices were saying. She was careful to stay safely hidden behind the trees.
"Voldemort…surely has." One voice, a harsh one, muttered. Amber strained to hear the reply of the others. It was several minutes before someone answered.
"No doubt…only if we…Harry says…" Another voice, defiantly a man, said. Amber felt chills go up her spine. Did they mean Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived? Lucius had long ago instilled a hate for Harry Potter in Amber, and every year, Draco came home and told her all the horrible things Potter did to him.
"Is it right though? Voldemort… Lucius Malfoy has…" A woman's voice said. Amber inched a little closer, dying to hear what they were saying about Lucius.
"That boy of his, Draco…" A third male's voice said. Frustrated, Amber moved a little closer, carefully to remain hidden behind a tree. Now, from her new position, she could see who was talking.
There were four people, three men and one woman. It was too dark for Amber to make out any more details, even though she had amazing vision. Draco often called her Hawk Eyes.
The woman had started to say something, but the man with the harsh voice interrupted her.
"We're being watched." He said in a hoarse whisper. Immediately, his three companions jumped and pulled out their wands, looking around nervously.
"By who?" Amber heard on of the mean whisper. Amber felt the fear rising up in her.
"By that girl." The man with the harsh voice said calmly, pointing directly at where Amber was hidden.
Author's Note: I hope you guys like this chapter, and thanks to everyone who reviewed. And did anyone besides me notice that I spelt Narcissa's name wrong? I was spelling it Narcrissa, not Narcissa…