Challenged Love

Chapter 10

When I was eight years old, I witnessed an atrocious sighting at the hands of You-Know-Who, which would leave me scarred for as long as I should live. My parents received the Dark Mark, a symbol which is implanted in your arm permanently and signifies your loyalty to You-Know-Who. They went on to serve the Dark Lord, causing them to become aggressive, violent, and everything which a loving parent ought not to be. Whether that was by locking me in my room for several days as punishment, or by emotionally manipulating me until I felt myself become numb, there was honestly no limit to what they would do. Their cruelty was endless, their consistent lies boundless.

Over a year ago, my cousin, Kasper, who also has parents who are Death Eaters, decided he was brave enough to confess of his leaden burden concerning our family. The result of this courteous action led to the imprisonment of our parents. However, we would soon meet them once more, for we attended the official court trial, where the decision of their sentence was decided and finalized.

Now, after seven years, I have learned that my parents never wanted to be Death Eaters, that their cruel and evil deeds were caused by the Imperio Curse. This was a shocking truth, the truth I must force myself to come face-to-face with.

Except, I must do it without Kasper by my side.

Every step closer I took, the more my heart began to pound, and the more I wanted to turn and sprint away. I felt as if I were going to throw up, a sick feeling which I wished would go away. I was dizzy. I was terrified. I was everything but calm. My hands were shaking, and I believed my legs were going to give out soon.

As me and Narcissa were traveling by a muggle bus to the hospital, I thought perhaps I had the answer to who cursed my parents. It seemed obvious all along, but I suspected it was You-Know-Who. After all, he is wicked enough to perform such an agonizing curse. He probably wanted my parent's loyalty, which would have been his motivation for doing it. Except, the only thing which may contradict my theory is that You-Know-Who was considerably weak, and performing such a difficult curse for such a long period of time would have required much more strength. But at the same time, I have a very little understanding of what he is truly capable of.

We made it to the hospital much faster than I had predicted. The world began to sway as me and Narcissa went inside.

A nurse acknowledged us.

"Miss Rosewood!" she spoke to me. "Please follow me."

I began to follow her, but then stopped when I realized Narcissa was staying behind.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked.

"You were requested to go alone, but I'll be here when you get back," she stated.

I reluctantly followed the nurse to the psych ward of the hospital.

"It seems that after a year of being free from the Imperio Curse, your parents have finally begun to gain some of their memory back," the nurse was telling me. "Yet, because they had been dependent on the curse for so long, they seemed to have forgotten how to do things on their own such as feed and clothe themselves. They have become somewhat better, but their sanity still isn't completely renewed."

I acknowledged her as she spoke with the nod of my head, but most of my attention span lay elsewhere. All I could think about was the moment when I would see my mum and dad.

Finally, we came into a room with one, singular chair. The walls and flooring were made of concrete, except for a foggy, glass wall in front of the chair, as if you were supposed to sit and gaze into nothingness. That was when the nurse waved her wand, and the glass wall became transparent.

Then, their eyes met mine.