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PROLOGUE: Evil Child
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LIVINIA ROWLE WAS ONCE EXTREMELY PROUD TO CARRY HER LAST NAME. She had been that way for the first nine years of her life, despite believing her father, Thorfinn, was evil incarnate. Her family were notorious Death Eaters, close and personal friends of the Malfoys, the Blacks, and the Lestranges. The Rowles were up there with the cruelest and most heartless that the wizarding world had ever seen, and Livinia would use that to her advantage at any given opportunity.
Thorfinn and Elladora Rowle had done well raising their three children, ensuring that each of them understood and cherished the value of the thick and pure blood that flowed through their veins. The three children knew the high status that their name held, and they knew that those that were either alleged blood-traitors (such as the Weasleys) or even had a single drop of impure blood didn't belong in the magical world.
Livinia knew that Alexander was the favourite; it was always more impressive to have a son rather than a daughter due to the misogynistic ways of pure-blooded families. It was extremely rare for a woman to be a Death Eater of such quality as Bellatrix Lestrange, not that Livinia aspired to be anything like the psychotic woman. Livinia knew that her father practically worshipped the Dark Lord, he held expectations that his three children would willingly follow in his footsteps. Livinia was once naive enough to believe that this would be her life's work.
Livinia had a stone-cold demeanor and refused to show any form of emotion, but despite this, she was the first person to admit that her life was in complete shambles, and she was determined to never allow another soul to discover this. The girl was miserable; not that anyone would guess due to her typical mean, spiteful, and cruel manner. If one were to suggest that Livinia Rowle was a nice person? That idea would swiftly be laughed at and never thought of again.
Ever since her first year at the school, Livinia was known for her blood-purist attitude and general insolence. Hanging around Draco Malfoy only made her reputation worse in the eyes of anyone that wasn't in Slytherin, however, it increased the respect she gained from her housemates. Alexander was proud of this and in those times saving her own skin was of sole importance to Livinia.
Livinia clearly remembered the first time that she visited her mother in the permanent ward of St Mungo's hospital. It was just before her ninth birthday and she had cried the entire time, not once letting her tight grip around Alexander's torso loosen in the slightest. But it was better back then, she still had sweet little Indira, but it wasn't long before the then seven-year-old had a very similar fate to her mother.
Not long before Livinia was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Indira too had been placed in the permanent ward of St Mungo's. Livinia visited her mother and sister every weekend before she had to leave for school, but it was clear that her father objected to her visiting so often. He didn't dare to stop her, knowing fully well that she could easily turn him in to the Ministry and that he'd be locked up in Azkaban for the use of the Cruciatus Curse. He wanted Livinia to respect him, but that was mostly because he had planned for her to be enlisted in the Death Eater ranks as soon as she turned seventeen.
The only flaw with Thorfinn Rowle's plan was that Livinia didn't respect him at all, and she was certain that she'd never respect him again. She hated him with every single piece of her shattered heart, but she felt that it was justified as he was the reason that her mother was deemed brain dead and that her sister was under the influence of an incredibly strong Draught of Living Death. The potion was so powerful that it was incurable.
Livinia never mentioned her mother or sister to anyone, and without a valid explanation of why she was so horrible, people just assumed that she was simply evil at heart. She didn't mind it being that way, at least then people wouldn't look at her with pity and instead they'd simply leave her alone. Of course, Draco Malfoy knew as the two had been friends for their entire lives, after all, the Malfoys and Rowles had always been close.
As Livinia spent more and more time at Hogwarts, her time at St Mungo's became scarce, but she made sure that whenever she wasn't at school she'd be spending time with her sister, or rather just sitting beside her limp body and telling her stories about anything and everything. Livinia did often see Neville Longbottom in the permanent ward, but the two never said a word to each other. Knowing that someone else was going through something similar to her did bring Livinia a small sense of comfort though, and because of that she never bullied or teased the boy. After all, she saw a part of herself in the Gryffindor boy.
Livinia was a scared, insecure, cowardly, and lost little girl, but she showed it in another way. No one would even bother to get to know her enough to see through her facade as she was just the cold-hearted Slytherin that most people were terrified of. Alexander handled the same trauma and grief differently, he never visited St Mungo's again, nor did he ever mention them again. Livinia just figured that it was easier for him to pretend that Elladora and Indira Rowle had never existed in the first place. Livinia wished she could do the same.
At school, Livinia only considered two people as her friends and it was no surprise that they were Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. She didn't have many options, but they were people she could relate to. Draco too had an evil family and was destined to become a Death Eater, and Blaise's father was dead, making Livinia realise that death was not always the worst option. They were an odd group, but Livinia liked it that way.
The middle Rowle child had never cared for schoolwork or grades, resulting in consistently terrible grades as she was too miserable to actually bother trying in school. Her father never told her to try either as there was no point, Livinia would just get married off to another ridiculously rich pure-blooded family who were also loyal Death Eaters. It was a sad truth for Livinia, but she knew that she had no choice.
Livinia Rowle knew that she was a screwup, a write-off, a wreck, and she despised the way everyone would look at her so, except for that one unsuspecting person who found her crying in the middle of a corridor when they both should have been in Transfiguration.
But sometimes even the toughest of people need a shoulder to cry on, even if it was one that belonged to the blood-traitor Gryffindor boy that was Ronald Weasley.
