His Light

Chapter 2

The house was oddly silent as I woke up. None of the usual yelling or shattering of objects as they were thrown.

Cautiously, I slipped out of my room and through the hallway, heading downstairs. My nose wrinkled at the cigar fumes reaking from wherever Tobias was sitting down there, and the dried blood on the floor from my mother and myself being whipped.

My eyes skimmed through the room as I entered silently. I froze when I saw my mother's body lying on the floor.

I rushed towards her, gently rolling her over, only to be greeted by glassy eyes. Blood was coating her front, and it was unclear where her injury was. But it was too late to save her. Her skin was cold, her pulse gone. She was gone. Gone...

I jolted upright, startling myself awake. Just a nightmare, just a nightmare. But a very realistic one.

This nightmare has plagued my mind for years. I never knew when Tobias's abuse would turn deadly. My mother was fragile enough already.

And yet, my mother never left him. From my reading, I had come to the conclusion that she had Stockholm Syndrome. But there was nothing I could do. No one would care enough to help me with my parents.

But if I proved myself to the Dark Lord, maybe he would help. It was a long shot, of course, but it was all I had.

I got up out of my bed, barely noticing the chilled air, and walked over to the window, looking out into the lake. The merpeople weren't out yet, so I guessed it was too early to head to breakfast. But the library would be open.

I pulled on my tattered robes, and frowned in the mirror. My uniform was much too short for my height, but there was nothing that could be done about it. They were charmed by the store to resist alteration by magic, and I couldn't pay for new ones. I could hardly afford the school supplies required each year.

I sighed as my eyes shifted to my hair. I had just washed it last night, but it didn't look like it. I had read that stress made hair more oily, and clearly, I was a prime example of that.

It really wasn't as bad as it looked. It was actually somewhat soft when I ran my fingers through it. The inky color of my hair just reflected the light, making it appear so oily.

But I supposed it didn't matter. My nose ruined any trace of handsomeness anyway.

~

As I walked down the corridors to the library, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Excluding the portraits of course.

It was eerie, but I brushed it off as just me being on edge from the nightmare. My steps echoed, the sound reverberating off the walls, too loudly for my liking.

I was nearing the library when I tripped over...something. Maybe my own feet? I had heard of people doing that, but then again, I was never clumsy.

As I picked myself up off the floor, brushing my robes off, an unknown force pushed me forward, and I stumbled to stay upright. My eyes narrowed. Potter.

I turned around and reached a hand out, but only grabbed air. A snicker came from my left, and I quickly reached out towards the sound, but again grabbed only air. I loathed his stupid invisibility cloak.

I was not about to play this dumb game again. I turned on my heel and continued my trek to the library. I was almost there when...

"Ah ah ah Snapey, where do you think you're going?" the voice of Black jeered, right as I was shoved backward again.

Great. He was under there too.

I scanned around me, hoping to see some imperfection in the air, a crease in the fabric. To my delight, I spotted a small place where the cloak's magic didn't quite line up with the space behind it. Just a little ripple as they moved, but enough that I knew their location.

I smirked as I reached in front of me, this time feeling the soft fabric of the cloak. I pulled, and revealed the troublesome duo of Gryffindors. But my triumph didn't last long.

"Get your greasy hands off it!" Potter shouted, and he ripped his cloak from my hands, whilst Black punched me in the face, sending me flying backward into the wall.

The impact disoriented me, and it wasn't long before I was on the floor again, dazed and on the verge of blacking out.

"You should know better than to ruin our fun, Snivellus," Potter said, right before he kicked me in the head.