Life of a Black (Sequel to Life of a Malfoy)

The Game

I felt the spiked whip slice across my back, the sound of cracking filling my ears. My head pounded as I gasped for a breath, filling my lungs with oxygen only to let out a scream as the whip slashed down on me again.

Seventeen. That's what my count was up to. Any more now, and I would surely lose conscious. I wish I had.

Tears streamed down my eyes, and my throat burned, sore from screaming. I bit my tongue to keep myself quiet, and clamped down hard as the whip cracked on me.

Blood filled my mouth. There was too much blood. Blood all over. I tasted it, smelled it, saw it, felt it. I let out a choked sob as I struggled to regain my pride.

"Foolish girl. You think you can destroy me," Voldemort's chilling voice said from above me. My breaths became ragged and uneven. "Give her one more, so she learns the lesson."

With that, the whip lined with tiny spikes ripped across my back once more. I let out a squeak as black spots danced in my vision. Black and red. Tears cascaded down my face, and I grabbed my arm. I quickly pierced my forearm with my nails.

I almost screamed as my nails broke the skin, but pressed them in harder until my arm bled.

I sat up from my spot on the ground to find myself soaked in black ink. That was the blood, I told myself, thinking of the flashback I had just had. I took a shaky breath in, and looked down at my soiled body to see black mixed with red. Gasping, I focused my eyes on my forearm. There were actual slits on my arm where I had dug my nails into my skin in the flashback. I had woken myself up.

I winced as I lifted my arm up, and looked up at the wall. There were still ink smudges covering those three spots, and I smiled. I traced my fingers in the ink puddle on the ground, with no idea what to do next.

"Lex- oh," a voice said, barging into the room. "What, what happened?" Harry asked as he came to me. He picked me up off the ground and stared at the ink covering my body. I didn't know what to tell him, the truth, or a lie?

"I dropped it when I lost my balance.." I lied sheepishly, hoping he would believe me. But he didn't.

"You're lying," he stated, and pulled out his wand and started to clean the ink off me. "What really happened? I heard pounding from downstairs so I came up to check."

"I-I um.." I mumbled, not knowing how to start. "I kinda blacked out.. And woke myself up.." I pointed to my forearm, which by the time was pouring out blood. Harry gasped and finished cleaning the ink with the last swipe of his wand.

He then grabbed my other arm and dragged me down the stairs to the ground floor. We strode past Ron and Hermione, who sat on the couch staring at me, worried expressions plastered on 'Mione's face. She opened her mouth to speak, but Harry dragged me out of the room and led me to the kitchen. He sat me down in a chair at the table, and poked around in the cupboards.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find bandages for your arm," he said, and searched.

"Why? It's just a few scratch marks, I'm fine. Just stop." He slammed a cupboard door and I jumped, heart thumping.

"It's not just 'a few scratch marks', Lexa! It looks like you were stabbed with a knife! I'm bandaging your arm, whether you want me to or not."

"I can manage this minor injury by myself, alright?" I rolled my eyes at his rubbish and stood up, ready to walk out.

"Sit down. Your so bloody stubborn and you can't do anything to heal that by yourself!" Rage pulsed thoroughly me. "Sit down!" he repeated.

Why would he want to help me? I didn't even need his help. I didn't want his help. He opened up a drawer, and there were all kinds of medical equipment. Pulling out some gauzes, he walked toward me.

"Stop," I repeated. "I don't need your help! I'm a big girl, alright? I can deal with a few scratches!" I shouted in his face. "And I definitely do not need your help, nor appreciate it for that matter." I turned to walk out, and he grabbed my wrist just in time.

"Whatever game-"

"This isn't a game," I spat out in a chilling whisper. "I'm not playing games, Potter. You played with me, but the games are over. This is real life now. I've seen things you dream of, I've been through things in your nightmares. Locked up for over a month really knocked some knowledge for reality into me." Then I paused, carefully choosing my words. "You may think you knew me before, and you probably think you still know me." The shock registered on his face. "But you don't know me, at all. I've been living in a world of pain ever since that night." His mouth dropped open. "And it didn't stop there. Starving, without any food nearly a month, it really makes you glad when you got to eat all those feasts at Hogwarts. Like the start-of-term feast? Too bad I missed that one. I missed the the Christmas feast too. Oh, what was the last one?" I glared straight into his eyes.

"The end-of-term feast!" I growled. "Missed them all because of you." With that, I shoved him away from me and practically ran back up the flights to Sirius's bedroom. Someone was shouting my name as I stomped on the stairs. Ripping off a chunk of my shirt, I wrapped it around my arm. It was instantly soaked, and I gritted my teeth and opened the door to his bedroom. I turned around and slammed it hard. Turning back around, I choked when I saw a person sitting on the bed.

"H-How did you get in here?.." I mumbled. My heart was picking up in pace, and I frantically felt my pocket for my wand. I pulled it out and raised it in front of me. I backed up to the door and hit it, using it to stabilize myself as I was practically convulsing. A smile played on his lips.

"I'm not here to hurt you" he whispered, making my head pound. I fumbled behind me for the door knob, and twisted it to find it locked in place.

"What do you want?" I projected in a more stable voice, trying to show I wasn't afraid of him. He laughed as he saw right through it.

"You can't fool me, Lexa. I know you better than you know yourself. Mom told me that you would take a lot of convincing, but I'm just going to tell you now that I'm the good guy." I froze out of shock.

"Liar," I hissed.

"Aren't you still alive? I could kill you, and bring you back to the Dark Lord," he said with a smirk. "Besides, what are you doing all cooped up in this place? Dad would want you to be downstairs, with the Golden Trio planning the next move." I felt a twinge of pain in my heart as he said that, knowing it would hurt me.

"Stop playing the game," I told him, and clenched my teeth together. He smiled, and I knew he heard mine and Harry's conversation.

"I'm not playing the game, sis. Neither is Harry. Or Hermione and Ron. But someone close to them is playing a game." He thought for a moment, then continued. "A really, really dangerous game," He added, and looked straight into my eyes. "They don't like getting rid of a special blood status, and let me tell you, the player is a pureblood."

Pureblood? "Malfoy."

"Malfoy's not close to Harry, is he?" he asked with a confused expression, toying with me. "You're close, but she's playing the game with everyone."

"What?" I hissed.

"I warned her the consequences, and she knows. But thats all I can tell you, and I won't be coming back again. So farewell, long lost sister." He smiled an evil smile. "Until we meet again." And he disapparated with a crack. He was playing with me.

My own blood brother was trying to get me to let my guard down. Never.