The Burning of the White Wisteria

MINICHAPTER: ABRAXAS

I glanced down at the picture I was holding. It was a picture that Alexa and I took together last year when we went to Greece for a family vacation. I couldn't help but stare at Alexa's face in the photo, smiling and happy to be by my side.

I put it face down on my drawer, closing it to hide it from my roommates. I didn't want to know what Aventus would do if he found that picture, his obsession with my sister's appearance had long passed creepy.

Thinking about him, I glanced over at Avery's bed. I was more than thankful that Avery was fast asleep at this point, snoring loudly as he did every night. Tom normally wouldn't return to the dorm until very late in the evening, kept busy from prefect duties and other personal projects that I was certain I didn't want to know about.

Looking down, I thought about what Alexa had said to me that day again. Surely, Alexa couldn't have meant what she said-- that's what Mara had said-- she's upset, 'Brax, of course, she doesn't think that way. But I wasn't too sure.

In a way, I truly believed that she was right. The Malfoy men seemed to be cursed by a desire for power-- to dominate someone else. It showed itself in every man in my family, not skipping a single one of them. Alexa was right. How arrogant must I be to declare myself free from such a curse?

Suddenly, I heard the door open and Tom walked in, the air around him overwhelmingly angry. It wasn't necessarily new.

"Evening, my lord." Merlin, do I hate calling him that.

He didn't say anything, staring at me quite intensely. I wanted to squirm under his gaze, it is not enjoyable to be the target of Tom Riddle's rage, I would know. Something seemed to flash inside his head, changing his expression completely. Suddenly, he no longer looked angry, but concerned.

"Abraxas," he started, his face innocent, "have your sister and you made up yet?'

"Huh?" I furrowed my eyebrows, knowing the reason he was asking was not that he was concerned about our relationship or anything like that. "Uh, no," I said awkwardly, "we haven't."

"Oh," he stated, his eyebrows thrown up in surprise, "tell me, have you noticed that she's been spending a lot of time with that Sirius Black?"

"Sirius Black?" I asked, not surprised to hear it, "yeah, we've known Sirius since we were children, though he always liked Alexa more than me--"

"Do you trust him? With your sister, I mean?"

"I," I thought quickly, "yeah, he's not a bad guy."

"I see... So I was concerned for nothing then." Tom sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Thank Salazar."

"Why would you be?" I asked, half-jokingly. "Besides, Alexa can handle herself. I've seen her do it."

"Oh, I believe it," Tom chuckled and sat down on a chair, "I must have been seeing things then."

"Seeing things?" I asked, genuinely curious, "why, what did you think you saw?"

"I mean, it must have been my imagination but," Tom stared at the fireplace, seemingly enchanted by it, "I thought I saw Sirius and Alexa earlier tonight and Sirius... They were... Doing illicit things."

My eyes widened at his words. "Oh," I looked off to the side, suddenly feeling awkward, "I mean, that's not my business--"

"Yes, but Abraxas," Tom looked over at me, brows knitted together in concern, "even if it was just my imagination, I feel as if you must know..." He trailed off, glancing to the floor as if he was remembering what he had seen. "Well, to be frank, it didn't seem... Mutual."

My breath hitched in my throat at the notion of it. "What?"

"Nevermind, I probably just imagined--"

"Tell me, Tom," I ordered, anger beginning to bubble in my chest.

"When I found them," he stated, "I was originally going to let them go but... Well, I couldn't when I saw that Alexa seemed quite distressed. From my perspective, it seemed like she was trying to fight Sirius off of her... And considering how upset she's been recently... I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius used it as a chance to... Well, you know."

I didn't say anything.

"But," Tom said, standing up and letting out a sigh as he patted my shoulder, "as I said, it was probably just my imagination. Goodnight, Abraxas."

Tom walked into the bathroom, leaving me alone.

I looked over at the fire, trying to process my thoughts but I was certain of one thing:

I am going to kill Sirius Black.