A Flurry Of Crimson

Chapter 6 | Broken Glass

I have spent enough time healing my injuries, each one burning with a hiss of a spell then fading away. The numerous stunning spells that struck me cause trickling spasms into my muscles whenever I close my eyes and I feel myself hitting the ground over and over again.

I curl out of bed to take a small stride between the halls of Malfoy Manor.

On my way, I observe the paintings fixed on the walls, and then suddenly I hear the deep, slow buzz of music. I advance and lean my forehead against the door where the music is seeming to come from. My hand hesitantly dangle downwards the handle. It's cold under the twist of my fingers.

I open it to see a clean bedroom, with a king sized bed in the middle, draped with a royal quilt, and matching pillows. I spot a calendar on it, mentioning: December 1996.

All the days from 1 to 23 are crossed out. It's already Christmas eve, the 24th of December.
It has been already seven months since the Death Eaters' attack on our manor. Time runs fast. Very fast.

A beveled edged mirror hangs on the right side, having an antique silver frame, stained with traces of black. I have seen a lot of sumptuously designed rooms, but something about this one is interesting.

The tips of my fingers help me inspect the whole area, object by object. It's silly to think about, but I miss objects rubbing against my fingers or palms whenever I touched them. It gives me a relieving sensation.

The sun is setting, I can tell by the golden sunrays that splash into the room through the windows, reflecting vibrantly on the painting that appeared to me last time in the cell, and again, there are the sunflowers dancing to the wind. But they seem... lifeless.

My vision lifts to the bedside table, where a mini radio, the source of the music is, and beside it sheets of newspaper. I approach to read the Daily Prophet thoroughly, my eyes carefully swinging across every sentence.

Minister of Magic honours Mr Theodore Nott for his great obedience towards the Dark Lord by giving him the souls of two Aurors, "Kenneth Robert Greengrass and Nathan Flynt Lestrange" for their rejection of becoming one of the Dark Lord's supporters. Undoubtedly, these people deserved death.

Plus, Mr Nott likewise accomplished his task in killing Ex-Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix "Alastor Moody."

Under the small text is a picture of Theodore and Thicknesse. The picture plays in motion continually, and a smirk would appear on Theodore's face at each click of a camera.
I feel like I want to push my arm into the picture and let my hand wrap tightly around his neck until he stops breathing.

I hate you, I hate you, I mutter beneath my tongue as I watch the memories of both of us swim in front of my eyes.

When we were kids, and my family decided to visit his, we habitually played 'Tag you're it" in the garden of the manor and between the hedge mazes. He chased me, and I ran away from him until I inattentively tripped into the mud pit, blemishing my fancy dress. We fell into endless laughs each time this happened, and then he helped me get out.
Or the ball nights.
Or the time we spent at Hogwarts Library and helped each other to finish our assignments.
All of this is the light of our past, and I can see how he let go of it easily. I guess I'll have to do the same.

I forgave him for the tiny bad things he did, maybe because of the strong bond that we had.
I was foolish; he took advantage of me through all these years. I know he did.
But now, this bond is ceased, and I'm not going to forgive him henceforth.

I urge myself to forget him as I continue reading.

Astoria Greengrass becomes a Death Eater after her father's and uncle's deaths. Eventually, the young ignorant lady got caught in a romance with Theodore Nott.