A Serpent's Heart

Chapter 31. "Come Back."

Mr. Tacendi had guided Draco and Keira to a quiet spot near the Forbidden Forest, away from the battlefield. Draco was a little skeptical, but there was no harm in trying Mr. Tacendi's method.

"Tell Draco he has to come home right now. Tell him the Dark Lord can forgive his mistakes if he can prove himself useful again," the voice in my head said. I looked at the blonde boy and my gut feeling told me that was Draco.

"The Dark Lord will forgive you if you come home now and prove yourself useful," Keira suddenly said.

Draco cursed under his breath. So his father was still giving her orders. "I'm not going to serve that murderer again," he said.

"He doesn't want to come? Curse him! Crucio will teach him," the voice said. Obediently, I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the boy.

"Watch out!" Mr. Tacendi shouted when Keira pointed her wand at Draco.

"Crucio." Draco was just in time to block the curse, but he took it hard seeing one of the only people he really loved to turn on him, even though he knew she didn't mean it. Embittered, he disarmed her, so she wouldn't be able to unintentionally harm anyone. Her father made her sit on the grass and Draco wistfully looked into her big, empty eyes. It was like he didn't know this girl and that made him feel very uncomfortable. This wasn't the same as losing Crabbe, because this was reversible, but he experienced the same sense of loss.

"Get on with it already," he said, a little too aggressively. He couldn't take it anymore.   

"It's something she'll have to accomplish on her own, but we can help her," Mr. Tacendi said. He kneeled down in front of his daughter and started talking to her. "Keira, can you hear me? You're in a trance. You have to wake up."

My peaceful state of mind was interrupted when a man, whom I vaguely recognized, started talking to me. I let his words wash over me, without really understanding what he was saying. He seemed agitated, but in my opinion there was no reason for fuss. Without the voice in my head telling me what to do, there was no reason to listen to this incoherent drivel.

"She's very hard to reach, but that's normal. It would be easier if I was a Legilimens..." Mr. Tacendi sighed.

"I'll help, maybe two voices can bring her back," Draco offered.

"Thank you. But don't feel blue if it doesn't work," Mr. Tacendi said kindly.

The wind rose as Draco kneeled down as well. The breeze made Keira's hair dance and Draco wondered if she would let him push a strand of hair behind her ear or that she would hit him. "Keira? It's me, Draco. Please, just come back. I know you can do it." Draco had no idea if this was the right way to awaken an Imperiused person, but he hoped it would do the trick.

Another voice. The blonde boy had started talking to me. I looked at him blankly. I didn't catch everything he said, but two words, that he kept repeating, caught my attention. "Come back." It took a while to process these words. I had to think hard to remember what they meant, but when I had figured out they meant I was in the wrong place and I had to go somewhere else, realisation hit me like an Erumpent. Like becoming lucid in a  dream, my consciousness increased. I didn't want to be here anymore, I wanted to return to normal!

I blinked. "Dad? Draco?" I said in a shaky voice. Draco and my dad were staring at me with wide eyes.

"I think my hypnosis worked! Thanks for your help, Draco," my father said. He took me in his arms and stroked my hair. I wrapped my arms around him and tried to remember what had happened before everything blurred.