A Story of a Short Ending | T.R

Chapter 22 - The Replacement

Hozier - Moment's Silence (Common Tongue)

The next two weeks dragged on for what felt like a year if not more. The Dark Lord disappeared off the face of the world, staying hidden in his spacious chambers and not showing his face for the fourteen days that followed their training days. Did he forget about them or did some more pressing matters come into view?

All of them felt his presence in the building as that feeling of the dark magic and his coldness seeped even through the walls. They knew he was there, he was doing something they didn't get to know yet. That caused the most ridiculous feeling that could've arisen in this situation.

Boredom.

One couldn't even imagine feeling bored in a situation like such, but there was no other option for the women who were stranded in a place they didn't want to be in with no option to escape or even go outside the Manor's gardens.

After those two weeks, they knew each of the flowers in the gardens in mind, explored all the corners of the Manor or at least the corners Malfoy allowed them to explore, without appearing behind their backs with a gloomy scowl and telling them to scatter around. The company they were stuck with was not pleasant, to say the least. Lestrange always found their sour faces amusing, as he himself was always busy doing something no matter how unimportant or ridiculous.

The Death Eaters were used to their days and their routines in the Manor, they spent enough time in it and enough time on their own to know what they could do with themselves to make their days brighter. Surely their most exciting moments were the tasks Riddle gave them to fulfil, after all, what is more exciting to a young man than a stroke of his ego?

The divide between the Death Eaters and the women in the house felt strong as one group paid little attention to the other. After all, they were brought in here to serve the man who was currently a mystery to all of them, without his tasks and ridiculous challenges they didn't have much to do on their own. Baking, spending time in the garden, training with one another, and even a little bonding time among the girls took place as the boredom and lack of purpose were eating at them. That's what Riddle wanted from them? To waste their time wandering the halls and attempting any activity they could think of to keep themselves entertained?

One of their assumptions was that it was a test. After all, it wouldn't be past Riddle to make up any ridiculous torture tactic and watch them like little ants trying to find their place in the group and decide where to build a house. However, after a week of silence from the Dark Lord's side, they scraped that idea off as even he wasn't as wasteful with time they had to allow them to simply wander around.

They started another day with barely getting themselves out of their beds because what was the point? They will get up, wash up, eat and continue wandering the halls and paths they already could trace with their eyes closed. Was there any purpose in whatever was going on? Was someone supposed to go check on Riddle, maybe his own dark magic finally choked him to death, as some of them or in this case all of them would be happy to witness.

The breakfast table was chattery only on one side of it, Rosier and Avery were discussing the latest newspaper they had delivered to the Manor. Lestrange was vividly trying to insert himself into the conversation by making inappropriate remarks about every second word the two guys next to him said, making Travers roll his eyes an uncountable amount of times. Closer to the head of the table Viridian and Malfoy were silent as they ate their food and didn't bother themselves with news of local gossip and authors. Malfoy didn't want to read more speculations about his life, wealth and marital status, while Viridian knew he wouldn't find anything about himself there and wasn't too interested in anyone else.