One Bite ✔️ (#Wattys2017)

Chapter 3...

        Draco (Hades) growled at the stormy grey owl before him, its large, yellow eyes bulging from its small head. Wretched bird, he thought, Idiotic brother, ruining everything. He looked down at the fresh crispy parchment in his hand again:

To my dear brother,

I am sorry to inform you but you will need to release our sister's daughter, Hermione, as soon as possible. Hannah has threatened to send a plague upon the earth for all eternity. Her curse has begun and the mortal farmers are beginning to notice the death surrounding them. I have tried hard to convince Hannah to let Hermione stay there, but she will not listen. Please send your response back to me and I will send Dean (Hermes) down to fetch the girl.

- Harry (Zeus)

How could his brother do this to him, he thought.

Anger flooding his veins like his own ichor blood, he turned around, quickly, kicking the large vase filled with black roses. He was originally going to give them to Hermione to use as her virginal crown at their union, but, clearly, that was not going to happen anytime soon. Draco's grey eyes stared at the large vase which was shattered, the water and the rose pooling beneath the broken pieces.

Abruptly, Draco reeled on the owl sending fear through its veins again, its little heart beating so quickly.

"I know you can hear, you pathetic bird," he growled at it, the owl's golden eyes shifted uneasily as the lord of the dead spoke, "Go back to my dear dear dear brother and tell him I shall do what he commands," and the owl rushed off before Draco decided to pluck it and eat it for dinner, or even worse, give the bird to the Witch of the Underworld, Hecate.

Draco growled again and kicked the nearest chair sending it flying into the wall, the wood splintering on impact, "Antonius!" he roared, his ebony teeth bared like a beast.

The ghostly figure of his servant materialized in front of him. Antonius was a handsome, blonde haired soldier who had died in Troy during the First Greatest Wizarding War and unfortunately lost his arm during it. Though he had a hard time with one arm, Lavender would help and Draco could even tell that something was forming between them other than friendship, "You called, my lord?" The dead, young man was always so calm and Draco was envious of the young soldier's ability.

"Yes," Draco snapped at him, "Please go to Lady Hermione's room and tell her our union has been canceled. She may explore around the palace if she would like, but warn her not to leave it. The lost souls around the palace are not gentle."

"Yes, my lord," and Antonius was gone in swirl of yellow.

Draco growled again and collapsed onto his throne, limbs thrown across the piece of furniture like old clothes. The dark metal was cold beneath his touch and it was the only welcoming companion he wanted right now. Cold suited him, like the darkness. He basked in the night.

Glancing beside him, his gaze found a similar throne to his own except this one had metal roses growing along the edges and was only slightly smaller. A crown lay on the crimson stained velvet seat and, reaching over, he picked it up. It was also covered in dark metal roses, which crawled around in each other, and from beneath the soft looking petals, spikes protruded. It was to be Hermione's when she became his queen, a symbol of the balance between death and life, but it held a darker secret. Her crown held the ability to protect her when he would not be able to and he knew that one day it could save her life. The crown was an early wedding gift from the Fates and he was, forever, thankful to them for it. 

Suddenly, he could feel something wet fall over his high cheekbones from his eyes. He raised a hand to touch them and pulled it away. There on the tips of his fingers was a dome of water and he continued to study it as more poured down his face. Within its watery grasp, his breathing grew irregular and he brought the crown to his face. Salt water trickled down onto the crown and pooled in the areas where the petals dipped. Then he screamed, mostly in rage, and threw the crown down on the ground. The clang echoed across the dark throne room.