free me from the false serenity
free me from the one I can not be
free me with the taste of this fathers thought
free me with the days unlost but taught
faced with his life the fire stopped burning long ago
and I fear I lost his sight
hand held me tight
this soul has fought too many years alone
and I fear I lost his sight
November 29th 10PM, Tuesday
Riddle Mansion, Draco's Bedroom
The mansion was silent and still as Draco and I lay together. I had one arm draped over his stomach and he had one arm holding me close to his side. A sigh escaped me as I rested my head on his shoulder.
"Trouble sleeping?" Draco asked. I shifted until I could make out his gray eyes twinkling in the moonlight streaming in through the window.
"Just thinking I guess," I replied with a shrug, "I seem to be doing that a lot now days."
"Saying you have a lot to think about would be an understatement," he stated knowingly.
"I'm just so afraid of the future," I explained, "Part of me hopes that this is some crazy nightmare and pretty soon I'll wake up. And another part of me fears that it could be a dream because that part of me doesn't want to wake up. Does that make sense?"
"Sort of."
"What if I am evil?" I asked worriedly, "What if I am meant to be some kind of dark lord? I don't want to hurt anyone or kill anyone, I just want to live my life."
"That's understandable," Draco responded, "I don't think you're evil. I don't think anyone's really evil. It's all about choices in my opinion."
We lay in comfortable silence for a while longer. After a few minutes I assumed that Draco had fallen asleep. I cuddled closer to him and squeezed him gently. It would be a few days until he would be able to travel once again.
Khalida and I had argued about the mode of transportation we would use to get to Brazil. She had suggested using the Dementors again but I stated firmly that I had no desire to call upon them unless it was an emergency. Our second option was a portkey but Draco wasn't sure if he would be able to create a portkey to a location under the Fidelius Charm.
After much discussion and some helpful suggestions from my grandmother, we decided that the best way for us to get there would be to take the non-magical route. It would be difficult considering that we were known in the muggle world as well as the magical, but it still seemed to be the safest option.
"What did you like to do when you were young?" Draco asked, his voice cutting through the thick blanket of silence surrounding us.
"About the same things as any other kid I guess," I replied slowly, "Well, I suppose not entirely the same things. I mean, I did have a strange father who was so overprotective that I couldn't go anywhere alone."
"I always liked to read," I continued, "and I loved playing dress-up. My dad used to play games with me too, like Chutes and Ladders and Uno." Draco gave me a confused look.
"What in the world is Chutes and Ladders?"
"A children's board game," I explained, "You roll dice and then move your game piece over squares on the board. When you land on a ladder then you climb up and if you land on a chute then you slide back down. I loved that game."
"And Uno?"
"A card game," I replied, "Dad loved it but I always thought it was completely boring. What did you like to do when you were young?" He shifted uncomfortably and turned his head to stare out the window.
"I always loved to fly," Draco said wistfully as he continued to stare out the window, "I felt so free when I was up on a broom. Nothing could hurt me up there."
"My mother used to tell me stories, I loved those," he added sadly.
"What kind of stories?"
"O you know, the type of stories that mum's tell their kids," Draco replied. "Stories about valiant young wizards saving damsels in distress from evil dark lords."
"Kind of reminds me of us," I said in an amused tone, "You're the valiant wizard and I'm the damsel in distress." A loud snort escaped Draco as he shook his head.
"I think I've been the one in distress and it seems you've saved me more times then I've saved you."
I propped myself up on my elbow so that I could look down into Draco's eyes. His eyelids fluttered slightly as I cupped his cheek in my palm.
"You save me every minute of every day," I stated firmly. "But what will you do Draco, if I'm the evil dark lord instead of the damsel in distress."
Before I could protest he pulled me down and pressed his lips to mine. It was not a sweet or loving kiss; instead it was fierce and passionate. We broke apart gasping for air. The hand on my neck held me in place and his gray eyes seemed to look right into my soul.
"If you are an evil dark lord," he hissed, his lips only a few centimeters from my own.
"Draco…I…"
"Then I am yours to command," he added quietly, causing me to tremble in his arms.
-
November 30th 3AM, Wednesday
Riddle Mansion, Draco's Bedroom
The moment I opened my eyes I could feel that something was wrong. I glanced around the room blearily and then studied Draco. His chest continued to rise and fall and he seemed to be sound asleep. Everything was too calm, too quiet.
I quietly pushed myself off the king-sized bed and padded across the room to the window. Hogwarts stood in the distance, lit up and awe-inspiring even in the dark. Without reason the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood at full attention. Something was definitely up.
"Jenny, come back to bed," Draco called out in a hoarse whisper. I turned my head to reply but stopped short when a bright light flashed somewhere outside.
"What the hell was that?" Draco exclaimed loudly.
A second later the floor began to shake under our feet and the window shattered. I stood in stunned silence as shards of glass flew across my skin, a loud roar sounding somewhere off in the darkness.
"Jenny!" Draco screamed. He jumped off the bed and rushed toward me just as the bedroom door flew open.
"Are you two okay?" Khalida asked worriedly as she ran into the room, Evelien trailing along behind her.
"I'm okay," Draco replied, "but I think Jenny has a few cuts."
"What was that?" I asked in a detached voice.
"I don't know," Khalida responded, "but it sounded like an explosion."
"Hogsmeade maybe?" Evelien offered. Draco slowly shook his head as he stared out the window. We all turned to see what had gotten his attention.
"Draco…what…." I began but Draco cut me off.
"It's the astronomy tower," he explained as we watched the flames eating away at the castle, "Or at least it used to be the astronomy tower."
"We've got to get over there," I stated firmly, "They could need our help."
"We can't," Khalida replied sadly, "We'd probably just cause more confusion."
"But my Dad's over there!" I exclaimed in disbelief, "I have to find out what happened."
"Then I'll go," Khalida stated firmly as she headed toward the door but Evelien stopped her before she could open it.
"You can't," she said sadly, "If you leave you won't be able to find your way back."
Draco pulled out his wand and pointed it at his eyes. I could hear him mumble an incantation before turning to look out the window once again.
"It looks like it's just the astronomy tower," he stated and I assumed that he must have cast a spell on himself to enhance his eyesight.
"I can't really make out what happened," he continued, "but from what I can see it appears that the explosion happened from the inside and the flames are nearly out."
"What's that blue light?" I asked curiously as some sort of glowing shield encircled the castle.
"The defensive wards," Draco explained, "The castle must have them up full force." A moment later the space where the tower stood was enshrouded in a bright purple light.
"I think the castle is trying to rebuild itself," he stated.
Suddenly a searing pain ripped through my head, forcing me to my knees. Draco removed the spell on his eyes before rushing to my side. I pressed my hands to my forehead. It felt as if my skull was being ripped apart.
"What's wrong Jenny?" Draco asked in concern. Khalida hurried over to stand next to him.
"I don't know…my head…splitting…"
"Jenny!" Khalida called out worriedly, "Jenny, can you hear me?" I nodded slowly as I continued to hold my hands to my head. Khalida glanced toward Hogwarts and then back at me.
"We've got to get away from here," Khalida stated, "The castle is draining her."
"What do you mean it's draining her?" growled Draco.
"It's the bond between them," she explained as she helped Draco lift me from the floor. They gently carried me across the room and laid me down on the bed.
"Please make it stop!" I screamed as the pain began to intensify, "I can't take it! Make it go away! Please, someone please!"
"What the bloody hell is wrong with her?" Draco hissed as he latched onto the front of Khalida's shirt. "Help her!"
"I can't," Khalida yelled, "We have to get as far away from the Hogwarts as we can. It's trying to rebuild the tower and it's using her magic to do it."
"The castle is killing her?" Draco gasped and Khalida nodded in reply.
The two arguing voices echoed in my head, almost as if I was hearing the conversation from the other end of a long tunnel. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and pressed my palms against my forehead as hard as I could. The pressure seemed to give me only momentary relief.
"She's getting worse," Draco said anxiously, "What are we going to do?"
"I told you," Khalida replied in an annoyed tone, "We have to get as far away from here as we can."
"And how on earth are we going to do that?"
"Does Jenny still have the Firebolt?" Khalida asked quickly and Draco nodded in reply.
"I shrunk it and stuck it in her bag."
"Fetch her bag and enlarge the broom," she continued, "We'll fly out of here."
"But there's only one broom," Draco stated sadly.
"I don't need a broom to fly," Khalida said sternly, "Can you fly and hold onto Jenny?"
"Not in the condition she is now," Draco replied, "She'd never sit still enough to stay on."
"Then you'll have to stun her."
"What!"
"I said you'll have to stun her," Khalida repeated. I let out a loud groan and turned onto my stomach, pressing my head into the mattress as hard as I possibly could.
"I can't…"
"You don't have a choice Draco," Khalida stated firmly, "Just do it."
Blood ran down my forehead into my eyes as I turned over to look at Draco. I could barely see his wand through the red haze as he aimed at me, his hand shaking slightly.
"Stupefy," he called out tearfully and the world faded away, taking the pain along with it.
-
December 1st 7AM, Thursday
"Where am I?" I mumbled as I slowly opened my eyes. "What happened?"
A quiet shuffling noise sounded off to my right and a moment later I was looking into a pair of very concerned gray eyes. I reached up to touch my forehead but stopped when my fingertips came into contact with something cold and wet. Large trees surrounded us and I gave Draco a puzzled look.
"We flew away from the mansion when you became ill," Draco explained nervously, "but we had no idea where to go."
"And we sort of got lost," Draco added sheepishly.
"Where's Khalida?" I asked as I pushed myself up to sit cross-legged.
"She's up there somewhere flying around," Draco stated as he pointed up toward the early morning sky, "Hopefully she'll spot a road or something. I'm not even quite sure what country we're in at the moment. It was so dark last night and we basically just flew as fast as we could."
"It's okay," I responded, "There's no need to explain."
"How's your head feel?" Draco asked worriedly. I carefully pulled the compress away and touched the sensitive skin underneath.
"Not to bad," I stated as I attempted to keep from wincing in pain. "It feels funny though," I added as I rubbed the middle of my forehead, "Almost like there's something stuck there." Draco shifted nervously under my gaze.
"What is it Draco? Is there something wrong?"
"I don't really know how to explain," Draco replied as he stood up and began to pace. "Something odd happened last night and it is rather difficult…"
"Just tell me," I interrupted in a frustrated tone.
"Remember last night when your head hurt?" he questioned and I nodded in reply. "Do you remember when you said that you felt like your head was splitting in two?" I nodded once again. "Well…it sort of did."
"WHAT?" I yelled loudly. A flock of birds flew off noisily at my outburst.
"Calm down Jenny," Draco responded steadily, "It's nothing to get upset over."
I ignored him and glanced around the clearing for anything that could serve as a reflective surface. A few feet to my left was a pond. I stomped away from Draco and headed toward the small body of water. Draco attempted to stop me but I angrily shoved him away.
"My God!" I gasped as I stared down into the glassy surface, "It really did split apart." With shaky hands I brought one finger up to the middle of my forehead and slowly traced the lightning bolt shaped scar running from my hairline to the bridge of my nose.