Chapter Five
Childhood Memories
She remembered the day her mother died. Merope hadn't been there; she'd been outside chasing fireflies. The whole sky was alive with them, and she had never seen anything quite so beautiful. Each yellow orb always seemed to appear just out of reach, and she'd run and run towards the source, only to find that it was somewhere else entirely. Morfin was on an errand in Knockturn Alley, so it felt okay to laugh aloud as she ran after the lights.
They guided her further away from her house, but she didn't realize it until the ominous roll of thunder forced her to turn around.
Merope didn't know where she was.
"Dad?" she called timidly. The only answer was another roll of thunder, and the first drops of rain. Frightened, she ran ahead, calling for her father and mother, and even her brother on occasion. Finally, a kindly man rushing to get out of the rain came across her and asked her where she lived. Even though he was drenched, he took her home by the hand, and didn't leave until her father answered the door. She was drenched, but she was home. Merope waved goodbye to the stranger until he disappeared around the curve of the road.
It was then her father struck her, once across the face. "Don't you ever leave again without permission!" he bellowed. "You don't want to touch that filth again! He's a muggle, a mudblood, and I forbid you to ever speak with another stranger again!"
"Where's Mum?" she wailed, holding her stinging cheek and scrambling to get away. Her father seized her wrist and tugged her back.
"She's gone, gel!" He gave her a shake. "Gone!"
"I want Mum!"
"You don't listen, do you? You can't do anything right!" Her father boxed her ears again. She couldn't be sure, but when she looked up at him again through tear-stained eyes, Merope couldn't help but wonder if he was crying, as well, or if it was just the rain. "You're a good-for-nothing, gel, a dreamer! Get your head out of the sky!" Then, with an unearthly snarl, he pulled her by the hair inside, all the way to her room, where he tossed her in and locked the door.