Treacherous - Theodore Nott

Chapter Twenty Two

Tears burn my eyes as I jog up the stairs to my room.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I mentally berate myself.

How could I let my walls down? How could I lean in to kiss him?

Of all the people I could use to fill whatever void I'm feeling right now, why him?

Because he was there, I think to myself. It's because he was just there and I was feeling vulnerable.

I reach my room and quickly get ready for bed.

I'm no longer crying, but when I see my reflection in the bathroom mirror, my breath catches.

My face is red and splotchy, my eyes bloodshot. Mascara is smudged under my eyes, but that doesn't hide the dark circles that have been growing more and more visible each day.

I sigh as I lean my head down to the sink to wash my face. I've got to catch up on sleep, my stress is becoming visible and I can't have people asking questions.

I stare at my reflection as I brush my teeth, deep in thought.

I'm still so angry with myself. He's been nothing but an asshole and has given me no reason to believe he's even interested in me.

I roll my eyes to myself as I remember another fun detail about him.

He's a bloody death eater. I just tried to kiss a bloody death eater. Perfect.

I leave the washroom and rummage through my pajama drawer, settling for a large T-shirt.

I have plenty of actual pajamas, but underwear and an oversized shirt is what I tend to choose for whatever reason.

Exhausted by a weeks worth of stress buildup and self-hatred, I crawl into bed and immediately fall asleep.

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I wake up suddenly and encompassed in a sheet of cold sweat. My eyes shoot open, but the room is still dark. An eerie silence has settled.

Hesitantly, I sit up, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light.

A bead of ice cold perspiration drips down my back, sending shivers across my whole body.

I look around my room as my eyes slowly adjust. I fell asleep with the drapes around my bed open, so I have a full view of the dorm.

A loud bang shudders against the door, and my head snaps to attention.

Another chill runs down my spine as goosebumps slowly sprout on my arms.

I pull my arms around me, hugging myself in fear.

I stare at the door, waiting in anticipation for another blow.

My heart drops to my stomach when I hear a new sound coming from the other side of the door.

A voice is slowly hissing words in a language I cannot understand. The tone is whispered, but the sound is echoing against the stone walls, and filling my ears.

I force myself to keep breathing, but all I can manage is slow and shaky breaths.

I can't think. My mind is blank.

The hint of a thought pushes its way into consciousness.

I'm going to die.

The snake-like words continue as my breathing grows shallower and shallower.

All I can feel is cold tendrils of something brushing against my skin.

My face, my legs, under my shirt.

Just as I think I might die from fear, the door opens ever so slightly. There's nothing but darkness behind it.

I force myself to keep breathing.

Then, against the floor, something moves.

A snake. A giant snake, hissing words that sound almost human, is slithering from the door towards my bed.

I scream. Loud and blood-curdling, I scream and I don't stop.

Suddenly, I'm being shaken.

My eyes flash open and Astoria is standing above me, shaking me.

I gasp in a breath of hot air and sit up, gripping her arm. My eyes fly frantically around the room as I hyperventilate, trying to catch my breath.

"You were screaming, are you okay?" Astoria asks.

Her eyebrows are knit together in concern, but I can see the fear in her eyes when I look at her.

I sit for another beat, just breathing before I nod slowly.

"Are you... going to be okay? Can I go back to sleep?"

I take another second to look around the room. The faint light from her wand is enough that I can see into all the corners of our dorm.

"Yeah... sorry, go," I say, breaking my stunned silence.

She nods slowly before turning around and retreating back to her bed. With a flick of her wand the light is gone and her curtains shut.

I close mine and sit in my bed, knees tucked against my chest. I rock myself back and forth until the darkness fades, and the soft glow of the sun peeks into my cave.

I'm not sure how many hours have passed since Astoria woke me up, but I pull myself from my covers and get ready for the day.

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