Chapter Twenty-three
Upon meeting up with Cilwenu, Draco found himself in one of the most concerned positions ever. He held his girlfriend close to his chest, squeezing her tighter every time he felt her fingernails dig into his skin. He shook with her, sobs making his whole shoulder jerk and become soaked with tears. Cilwenu hadn't yet told Draco just what was wrong with her, and he thought it might be best that he not ask unless she decided to bring anything up.
The point was, that she was safe and he was with her after worrying his head off.
By the time he'd been pulled into her death lock, the remainder of Cilwenu's friends came about. Hermione stood with Fred and George, while Lavender and Ron proceeded in whispering sweet nothings to one another annoyingly. Harry stood on the opposite side of Draco, next to Cilwenu with his head bowed low enough to look down at her.
Luna and Neville stayed close to the other side of the hallway with Seamus, who held a very, somewhat, ashamed Althea. Cho Chang had just decided to trail along, as well as a rather misplaced and bewildered Pansy Parkinson.
Cilwenu cried, and because she cried it made her frustrated. Although the more frustrated she became, the more tears that fell from her eyes onto Draco's shoulder. That, in itself, made her want to scream at the top of her lungs… filled with unforgiving sobs.
Her mother. Her delicate, future seeking mother, torn apart by her own hands… She killed herself. At least, that is what Cilwenu came to believe. To tell Severus, her father, that she wasn't even remotely sure how she was going to die just seemed like complete rubbish. If you can see the future, why have one detail blocked out from the rest?
As he stood there, Draco gathered together enough energy to pull himself away from Cilwenu and look her directly in the eyes. His hands cupped her cheeks and for once, he looked at her with so much warmth, so much love, that it filled her instantly. She almost stopped crying… almost.
"Everything is going to be okay."
"Mommy promises… it will all be okay when I am gone. I know you'll forget me… because I want you to, but it will be okay."
"Dr…draco." Cilwenu stammered, digging more into his cloak with her nails. She stared into his grey eyes as much as he did with her own dark ones. His lips puckered slightly, and it was within moments that he closed the gap and planted a warm, wet kiss on the young Snape girl's lips. Her heart raced, and her stomach turned violently. It felt so good to be loved so much, despite Draco never having really told her.
"Cilwenu… you will be okay, yes?" Luna inquired, interrupting the kiss, and breaking the silence amoung the group.
Cilwenu wiped the corner of her eyes and shook her head. She wouldn't talk, and she buried her face into her boyfriend's chest, where she found herself slip into a deep sleep.
Cilwenu woke up hours later to nothing but darkness. She was in her dormitory, covered with a comforter that was tucked just beneath her. It was chilly still, and Cilwenu stared deep into the darkness of shadows around her. It was usual at this hour that even Millicent Bulstrode was awake, studying away for god-knew-what possible test. Her heart soared, much like it had when Draco kissed her.
It still didn't make sense to her about what happened with her mother. It might never. But she still knew, at least.
Cilwenu supposed she could go on with her life, living as a witch. As if she really had any choice. She never had the chance to talk to her mother, and if Cilwenu did, it was probable that the only thing ever uttered to her late mother was baby talk gibberish. Only the talk of complete obliviousness.
Her father, Severus Snape was the one who raised her for over thirteen years. He played the mother, although rather poorly, and father roll like no other. Cilwenu couldn't think of anything she went without, now that she actually thought about it. Her father would give her anything if she just asked in the right tone. So many years… so many wrong words had went by, and Cilwenu hadn't yet taken into account how Severus might have felt when Vivienne died.
Did he really even care about her? Or did he, heaven forbid, sugar coat the story just a little? Perhaps truth serum would have worked just a little… but Cilwenu wasn't as much a potions master as her father. Unfortunately.
Cilwenu shifted on her side until she felt her cheek touch something cool. She jerked only a little, and patted for her wand frantically. Lumos cast, Cilwenu stared down at a small piece of parchment, which only read one thing.
Look inside the locket.
Her eyebrows sewn together, Cilwenu clasped the tiny locket around her neck, and slipped it over her head. She crossed her legs Indian style, and looked around the room, partially lighted by the illumination glowing from the tip of her wand. She pryed the locket open, and was shocked when she could see the tiny moving picture of her mother, Vivienne, holding a small baby.
It was Cilwenu.
She looked so new, so clean, and… so happy .
Now I know why I've never seen this locket until now. Cilwenu told herself. She stared at it for a little longer, before closing it shut, and slipping it back over her head. Cilwenu cradled the heart locket in her palm, and lay on her side against the firmness of her bed. She sighed heavily, letting her mind wander.
She wondered what Draco was doing, and if he was even awake. He never did bother with late night hours, claiming that he needed all the sleep he could get when it came to being in top shape. Cilwenu grinned, thinking about him. He was truly the shining armor that she needed.
Despite such a foul attitude, Draco was Cilwenu's first love. She would do anything if it meant being with him for as long as she possibly could. Now that Draco was actually trying to tolerate Cilwenu's group of misfit friends, it made life that much easier. She no longer had to hide whenever she thought Draco wasn't looking.
Cilwenu, still, wished that she could have had the chance to grow and know her mother, like Severus knew her.
Mother… if you can hear my thoughts… let me dream of you tonight. As if on cue, Cilwenu began to feel herself tire once more. One last sigh, and she was out, slipping into dreamland.
Dreams were always things that Cilwenu wasn't completely sure she understood. In her state of mind, it would be positively mental for such dreams to come true. She rarely had them, but when she did…
Walking around a white abyss, a white nothingness, Cilwenu felt warm, light, and happy. Her heart was at a normal rate, and she felt no anger. It was like she melted and formed back into a completely new person. There was no pain, and nothing more to worry about. This dream felt so real, so whole, that when Cilwenu realized it was just a dream she wanted to pinch herself.
The abyss smelled sweet of gardenias and lilies, like a perfume she'd smelled once before. It was the scent of someone she felt particularly close to. So vaguely familiar that it made her eyes squint.
In a white dress, covered in crystal flowers and stopping mid-thigh, Cilwenu twirled around in a circle. She was barefooted, and her hair fell from the usual ponytail seen worn. Her eyes sparkled bright with the light of serenity, while her skin tingled with love… an unusual love.
What was such a place as this?
"I would tell you to be careful what you wish for," said a voice so sweet, so pristine, that it could shatter glass, and heal the hurt.
Cilwenu turned to see the figure of a petite blonde woman, with curls that bounced and fell past her buttocks gracefully. She walked so orderly, so light, that it were as if the woman were gliding across the white floor beneath them.
"but then again, I cannot complain of such wish."
Cilwenu stared at the woman for what seemed like an eternity. She was so strikingly gorgeous, that even Cilwenu felt like a homely old woman in front of her. There was a clean white aura that surrounded her, covering the blonde woman with a sensation rather unknown by any man.
"Cilwenu Eileen Snape."
There was a knot in Cilwenu's throat that was easily swallowed by the flood of saliva produced by her tongue. She touched her collar, and took a step back, although she was not a bit scared.
"You wanted to meet me?"
Next Chapter: Cilwenu gets a chance to talk to her mother, but when the time runs out, and Cilwenu wakes up, will she have gotten all her answers?