The Darker Side of Me

Chapter Six

Time no longer held any relevance. Minutes felt like hours, hours like days. It was nearly impossible to discern what day of the week it was or even what day of the year. However, relevant or not, time was against the boy who lay beaten and bruised on the cold cellar floor. Somewhere above, the sound of a ticking clock that chimed every fifteen minutes mocked him as he battled with the options that lay heavy on his mind. The only interruption from his solitude had come nearly an hour after Voldemort had left him in a crumpled heap. A Death Eater, Dolohov if he wasn't mistaken, had dropped a plate of scraps inside the door before quickly retreating. Harry had made no attempt to reach the food despite the gnawing of his stomach.

Against the screaming protest from his body, Harry now pulled himself into a sitting position. His t-shirt clung to the seeping gashes across his abdomen and back. The room was a fuzzy black pit around him, his glasses lay broken somewhere beyond his grasp. However, he did not care to see.

Images of Lupin being tortured flooded his mind as he fought the urge to be sick. He couldn't let those visualizations become reality, but on the other hand, he couldn't bring himself to torture another person, no matter how cruel they might be. What he wouldn't give to have the energy to stand and pace the room. Anything would be better than sitting there helplessly trapped between the impossible decisions.

A soft click cut through the silent room as the locks on the cellar door were disengaged. A squirm of panic coiled inside him as he tried frantically to establish a plan before Voldemort entered the small room. The sound of footsteps never came though. Waiting, silent and still, Harry listened for any sign of approaching danger, but all was quiet. Raising his head slightly, the boy looked towards the door to find it standing agape.

Confusion mixed with excitement flooded his body. It's a trap whispered the small voice inside his head, but he paid it no mind as he unsteadily rose to his feet. Retrieving his mangled glasses, he placed them lopsidedly on the bridge of his swollen nose. Still, no one entered the room. Cautiously, he approached the door expecting at any moment for someone to spring out and restrain him. However, no opposition came as he reached the landing of the stairs outside the cellar.

Harry mounted the solid steps and as quickly and as quietly as he could he ascended into the hall above. To his great relief, it was also deserted. Tiptoeing the dark walnut flooring, the boy peered through the first set of heavy doors he came to. Inside he found a poorly lit sitting room, the dying embers of a fire were smoldering in a grand fireplace. Above the mantel, a gaudy mirror reflected the parts of the room he could not see from the doorway. His heart skipped a beat as a figure came into view apparently asleep in one of the high back chairs. Holding his breath, he slipped past the opening and continued his search for an exit.

There were several doors along the corridor, most leading off into different wings of the house. After each door he inspected, Harry felt his panic rise a little more. He began to wonder just how big Malfoy manor could be, and if he would ever be able to find a door leading outside. Yet, just when his anxiety was about to peak, he found his escape.

Opening a door slowly, he peered inside to find what appeared to be another drawing room but unlike the first, the back walls seemed to be made of glass. Hope swelled inside him as he quickly entered and shut the door behind him with a soft click. Ignoring the elegant paintings that adorned the high walls, Harry sprinted across the room, hurdling a small coffee table. He pressed his hands against the cool glass, squinting into the darkness that consumed the lawns beyond the doors. He could see rain pelting down in sheets over tall hedges in all shapes and forms. A burst of lightning illuminated what the shadows had been hiding, and to Harry's dismay, he could see the wind tearing violently through the trees. This is your only chance a voice reminded him and with that small piece of encouragement, Harry slid open the heavy door.