Half-Blood Princess Book Six

Chapter 9 - Broken

Third-Person POV

1st November 1996

Tilly sat across from Draco, who had become more distant in the last few days and barely talked to her at this point.

"Draco, you have to eat, sleep and try to have a life outside of...that," Tilly whispers at the end, but Draco doesn't even look her in the eyes. "Fine, if you won't talk to me now, maybe you will later. I'll see you after the match." Tilly gets up and walks over to the trio, following behind Ron. Tilly sits down and glares at the toast in front of her. She tries to block out Ron's panicking and Hermione's blunt replies but can't and snaps when the brown-haired girl yells at Ron not to drink his drink, but he does anyway. Tilly slams her hand on the table but misses it by a fraction and slams into her plate, mussing the toast and cracking the plate. "For crying out loud! Stop your bickering! Stop your whining! Stop your sassiness! Just stop everything." Tilly yells, gaining everyone's attention. "We have a game, and you can bet I'm not in a good mood." Tilly stands ready to leave when Harry mumbles.

"I can't tell if it's boyfriend problems or time of the month." He may have said it to himself, but from the glares he received from Hermione and Ginny, he said it too loudly. Even Ron was shaking his head. "Oh, you're dead, Harry James Potter." Harry and Ron jump up, running out of the dining hall. "Watch you back!" Tilly yells as she calls over the Slytherin team, and they walk out together in style.

The game had begun, and Ron hadn't let a goal passed. Tilly and Harry had been looking for the snitch, but it wasn't as easy as they assumed with the weather. When half the Slytherin team was gone, from being knocked off or passing out, the score was far too big of a difference. Even with catching the snitch, Slytherin couldn't win. Ron realised this and called out to Tilly.

"So much for winning, Tills." He meant it as a joke, but it only pissed her off more. She stops and calls to Blaise.

"Zabini! Tail Potter, and give me that!" He hands over the quaffle and follows Harry, while Tilly pushes past every player to get to the goals. Ginny chose not to get in Tilly's way, which was best, because those who tried, she push till they fell. The sky had become a dark grey, instead of the light white from the snow, Tilly is anger, and she can't control it anymore. Snape and Draco were watching from the stands, hoping she would break, but that is unlikely, as they both know. Tilly is only a few meters from Ron when she lets the ball rip through the air. As it connects to his face, knocking him out hard and leaving a massive bruise, lightning and thunder strike. Tilly looks down at the fallen Ron and feels a change in her heart, A dark change. Her hair faded to a white, she tanned, and her gear turned to black robes.

In a split-second, Tilly uses everything she has left to change the scene. There is two of her, one that looks normal and the other is The Dark Lady. Everyone gasps seeing The Dark Lady for the first time and so close to The Chosen Ones. Once Tilly could make her darkness disappear, lighting strikes again, making the disappearance of The Dark Lady more mysterious and authentic. She lowers herself to the ground and collapses. Both teams and people from the stands rush to help all the fallen players, but Snape is first to Tilly.

"Pumpkin, are you alright?" Tilly nods but asks him to take her back to her room before she passes out.

Tilly wakes up a few hours later to hear someone knocking at the door. Assuming it's Draco or her Dad, Tilly calls them in, but she someone else, Zac.

"Zac, what are you doing here?" Tilly asks, sitting up a little.

"Came to check on my friend." He says with a smile. "Where's your Dad and Malfoy?" He asks, sitting on the side of her bed.

"Dad left to let me sleep, and Draco is probably sulking somewhere." Zac gives her a puzzled look. "Just relationship things. No, I don't know where he is. I thought that you were him when you knocked on the door, to be honest." Zac chuckles a bit and looks back at the girl holding her head.