BLOOD TRAITOR [HARRY POTTER - BOOK 1]

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world; all rights go to J.K Rowling. I do however own my original character Nova Malfoy and her background.

As her mind flooded with images of his face, she replayed the memories that she had taken from him. Every time she closed her eyes, she dreamt of the cool wind that rattled through the old house, the way the ropes burned her wrists with every movement and the way it felt when the blood trickled down her chest. There was a time when Nova would have wished that anything would replace the nightmares of her accident but in the last week, if they so much as touched her sleeping mind, she considered it a relief. Reliving the way that the water flooded into her lungs as she thrashed against the waves, no longer sent her magic spiralling out of control and for that she was thankful but the new torments of her mind were much worse.

Legilimency was a gift that she had seldom used and as Voldemort's life danced around her thoughts, poisoning them like a venomous snake, she remembered why. The sheer power that she had used against him was of course an accident, self-defence. That fact wouldn't ease her apprehension. The youngest Malfoy may have stopped him momentarily but she had planted herself firmly on his radar, potentially with devastating consequences.

Closing her eyes, she watched him murder the Potters as she rubbed her forehead. Her hands shook as she fought the memories back, opened her eyes and scanned the letter from her parents once more. It seemed as though Lily's scream echoed through the empty common room as it battered at the walls that Nova had hidden it behind; she was going to lose her mind.

The subtle sounds of tiny footsteps caused the witch to snap her head towards the door. Her eyes scanned the common room, finding nothing. She really was going insane. The footsteps seemed to shuffle as she frowned and turned back around, only to come face to face with someone that she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Dobby, you scared the life out of me!"

"Dobby is sorry, Miss. Dobby only wished to check on his friend Nova Malfoy." The house-elf smiled fondly as his saucer-like eyes gazed at her from his perch on the table. The girl shook her head with a slight chuckle of disbelief as she looked at the elf. She had always been fond of Dobby and had taken many a scolding from her mother for trying to set him free. "Dobby is worried; he sees that Miss does not sleep. Does Nova Malfoy have bad dreams like Harry Potter?"

A frown crowded her features once more as she threw the letter from her parents into the Gryffindor fireplace. Greyback had told her father about the 'incident' and to say he was furious was an understatement but still, Nova couldn't help but blame him. The words of the letter had been read until she had them imprinted on her mind but she couldn't bring herself to respond, she didn't want her mother's sympathy or her father's apologies, she wanted revenge. Her glare hardened as the parchment turned to ash.

"It's nothing to worry about, Dobby. I'll be fine."

*

Nova rubbed her eyes every few minutes in an attempt to stay awake. Sleep was an unrelenting enemy but she refused to give in. Harry watched her as he sighed in concern. He couldn't help but notice the dark circles that cradled her eyes or her incessant need to run a hand over her forehead to ease the headaches; he also noticed how she subconsciously, scratched at the scars on her collar as if she could peel them off. She had made him promise to keep the incident a secret and he had to admit that it was hard lying to Ron and Hermione but he couldn't bring himself to betray her trust and so he carried on silently acknowledging her high necked jumpers as she avoided being alone with him. His gaze remained firmly on her as she spoke to Ginny, before the Weasley twins nudged him and began teasing him about the woes of young love causing him to blush furiously.