Out of the Shadows [Book Three]

Chapter Two:

DEDICATED TO LillyKane for her support on the last two stories!  

Chapter Two:

My eyes dart around, hoping and praying and begging that it would stop. Someone would save me, I was Harry Potter's sister after all; I had friends now, someone would help me.

I wasn't sure what was wrong but I felt trapped, lonely.. Someone would save me.

The ground was cold marble, beautiful especially with the blood stains that covered it.  White, red and black streaks ran through it, soaking my feet with blood that could have very well been my own.  Suddenly it wasn't just a few trickles of blood, it was rising and met my ankles, rushing and frothing; nearly sweeping me away with how strong the current was.

Then silence; followed quickly by footsteps echoing in the room where I was stood.  Fear ricocheted through my body, travelling up my spine before working its way down my arms, to my fingertips.

Something was wrong. Someone had to save me.  

Screaming, I felt the curse hit me long before I saw who cast it.  Severus Snape stood over my stooped figure as his obsidian eyes glanced down at my crumpled body. 

"Help me, Severus," I cried to the man I once considered my hero; back when he saved me from Aunt Marge; when he took me shopping and bought me Gumball, my beautiful long-haired calico. I felt disgusted at the weakness I was showing but having no other option than to show it.

"You will call me.. Headmaster."

I jolted awake feeling terrified, honestly terrified like I had never felt before. Snape in himself wasn't particularly scary but it was just the feeling I got when I was trapped in the blood-marble room. I didn't understand what was so horrendous about the dream; I only knew that I woke up terrified and alone in a bed nearly too large for my small frame with Ginny snoring across the room as if she hadn't a care in the world.

A man I once thought could be a father-figure to me, a man I once considered my hero was now the main character of my nightmares and he had been since I came to Hogwarts just two days ago. But today was different.

Today would be the first time I had to attend either Muggle Studies or Dark Arts (in fact I had both today) and I had made a promise to myself not to hide away, to be strong and brave and deal with whatever came.  They wouldn't kill me during school, I told myself, they would wait for the holidays and then deliver me to the Dark Lord himself so he could decide my punishment.  The most that would happen is a bit of torture probably.. Hopefully.

With my dark hair tied up so I wasn't able to hide behind it no matter how much I wanted to I made my way into the Great Hall. 

Twisting Morgana's ring that I had stolen from Borgin and Burkes just a few months ago, I sat down at the farthest seat from the professor's table that I could get. Despite how the majority of me didn't want to hide and just wanted to let happen what would, a tiny piece of me was obviously still of the mindset that hiding was my best option.  I couldn't seem to squash that small part of me that was sure if I didn't hide, I would die.

I messed with the food on my plate, barely noticing as Neville sat next to me. His hand touched my arm, causing me to jump slightly as I glanced up at him. 

"You should eat," he muttered, obviously not wanting to be heard. Every year, during meals the Great Hall would be loud with the chatter of hundreds of students but this year only very few were speaking.  Many had already found out just how terrible the new professors were and now were terrified of so much as speaking. 

Only the Slytherins were being loud and as rambunctious as ever, as a matter of fact.

I nodded, picking a piece of toast up and nibbling on it despite the nauseous feeling rolling around in my stomach due to my own fear and nervousness.  

Neville watched, as if to make sure I ate enough to sustain me until the next meal.  After several moments his hand finally released my arm and too soon for my liking everyone was standing up to head to their first class. 

Mine was Dark Arts with Amycus Carrow.  I felt someone grab hold of my hand and for one brief moment I thought it was Neville and my heart sped up before I realized it was too small, too feminine. 

"Be careful, Amy. Keep quiet, keep hidden.  We'll be okay."

Ginny's voice was just as low as everyone else's, her blue eyes were fiery and full of concern.  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak as the girl I had honestly hated just last year squeezed my hand in silent support before we walked into our first class together just as we had all of our classes the last couple of days.

The students were subdued and for the first time during a class, in all my years at Hogwarts, completely silent as they stared down at their desks.  Some picked at their nails or drew small pictures on spare bits of parchment but most just let their heads hang quietly in dread; they flinched at every sound and seemed to hope for the class to end before it had even begun.

I couldn't blame them. I was terrified of what would happen when Amycus would lay his eyes on me.  Would he smile and show off his yellowed and bent teeth? Would he immediately dismiss the class so he could appropriately punish me? Would he set me in a torture chamber with Filch or would he do it himself? Even worse, would he send me to his sister for her to handle?

With too many options my head spun around trying to decide which was the most likely to happen and how I could get myself out of the mess all together.

*

His eyes hardly left my person the entire class, as if he was just waiting for a reason -any reason at all- to reprimand me, give me a detention, torture or kill me.  But I refused to give him one; I did my absolute best to follow every rule he set forth no matter how ridiculous it was and as the end of the Dark Arts class rolled around I was able to feel relief flow through me. 

I had made it, I was alive and I didn't have to worry that he, at least, would just kill me outright for deserting the Dark Lords cause.

"Potter, stay."

Ginny looked back at me as she stopped just outside the door, her eyes widening while my face drained of colour.  I had spoken too soon, it seemed, so while Ginny was able to go to our Transfiguration class I was alone with Amycus Carrow.

"So nice of you to make hunting you down easy for us, the Dark Lord hasn't been happy with you.. Have you deserted us? Decided we weren't to you're liking?"

Fear flooded me as my mind raced to find an appropriate answer that wouldn't get me murdered.

"I was attacked by the lesser Lestrange, I've been recovering with my brother and attempting to find out all that's going on. He's yet to contact me since he ran off, however." My words were quietly spoken and easily spotted as lies, even Amycus -by far the stupider of the Carrow siblings- didn't believe a word of what spewed out of my mouth. 

So I went with more lies that would hopefully be more believable and possibly even somewhat truthful that would hold the Carrow's away from me for as long as possible.

"If you kill me, I'll die a martyr in this war.. If you or your sister kill me the Dark Lord will not be pleased. He will wish to question me himself. However if I go missing during the school year like a few of the Muggleborns have done, it will cause panic.. Panic is not something you want at this school right as you're making an attempt at taking it over."

Amycus' blue-green eyes (which were a bit too close together to look proper) narrowed on my tiny frame before he seemed to accept what I'd said.  "Don't run too far, little mouse, the snake is getting hungry."