14 - The Malfoy Manner

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I rang the doorbell of the marble white manor. It was still poured outside, and I was soaked to the core. I sniffled, while I held my shivering body. The door of the manor swung open slowly, to reveal a boy with white-blonde hair, and silvery gray eyes.
“Hell-”
I threw my arms around him before he even got the chance to finish. He knew something was wrong, so he just hugged me back. He didn’t seem to care that I was sopping wet. He hugged me, and shushed me, trying to comfort me, but nothing worked. I sobbed into his chest as he rubbed my back.
“What’s going on?” Narcissa asked sweetly. 
Lucius trailed behind his wife. The two adults looked at draco and i, and then at each other. Draco pulled away from me, as narcissa led me to the bathroom.
“Let’s get you cleaned up and dried, dear.” She said, pity in her voice.

<pov switch>
I sat in the living room, looking at Mary. Mother sat behind her, gently braiding her hair. Mary stared at the wall, her face was blank. Mother had given Mary some of her clothes for her to borrow, while her mother's dried. Mary looked deprived of all thought, all feeling. She was just… empty. I could feel it. I looked at father, who was also watching mother and Mary, trying to decipher Mary’s face. My heart shattered seeing her like this. She was my world, and something was wrong. Something had happened. But she hadn’t opened up about what it was. It had something to do with her family. I got up, and walked over to Mary, kneeling down next to her. I grabbed her hand, and she looked at me. Her eyes looked empty.
“Mary, please. We have to know what happened in order to help. Please talk to us.” I said, looking into her eyes.
Mary turned to look back at the wall, and I sighed, losing all hope. I got up, and started headed back to my seat, when she finally spoke.
“Amethyst.” She spoke softly. 
Mother and father both stopped to look at her.
“What about her?” Father asked, looking quite confused.
“She... “ Mary hesitated. “She left…” 
I turned around, and looked at her.
“What do you mean?’
“She ran away. They forced veritaserum down my throat. I broke a promise. She left.” Mary sniffed.
“Who did what?!” Mother gasped.
“Where would they have gotten it?” I asked, knowing what she meant.
“I don’t know… But they got it from somewhere and that’s all I need to know. I’ve ruined everything. It’s all my fault.”
“No Mary. Don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault.”
“But it is!” Mary stood, pacing around. “I broke a promise. And then Amethyst ran away. This promise was important. You should have seen her! She looked horrible! With-” She stopped in front of me, remembering her surroundings.
Mother and Father both gawked at us. Not understanding anything. 
“You know my parents.” Mary said, trying to sooth their confusion.
“What do you mean? Dona and Bela are good people.” Mother said.
“Are they? They show massive amounts of favoritism between my sister and i.” Mary said, sitting back down. “Dray, how much do you want to bet they won’t even notice she’s gone?” She laughed sadly.
“What are you talking about?” Father asked.
“I was always their preferred daughter. The favorite. I got everything so easily. Merlin, they didn’t even consider Amethyst their daughter. Thought she was a blood-traitor simply because of her friends.” Mary sighed.
“That’s horrible!” Mother cried, wrapping Mary in a hug.
“Narcissa, it’s alright. Really, i'm used to it by now.” She hummed. 
I sat down  next to Mary. The four of us all sat in silence, wondering what to say next.
“Would you like to stay the night?" Mother asked sweetly, "We have plenty of room."
Mary looked at mother, and nodded slowly. Mother smiled, and slowly led her to the guest bedroom.

I sat in my room. I was worried for Mary. She couldn't stay in that horrid house. She could live with us. We have the room, that's for sure. I was growing restless, and decided to walk around the manor. I left my room, and began to walk down the many halls. I walked up and down staircases, turned corners, and looked at the many portraits that littered the walls. I had gotten down to the third floor, and had gotten completely lost. Which is ironic, saying as I lived here. I had never even seen this hallway. It was narrow, and poorly lit, unlike the other halls and layers of the house. There were no portraits or moving pictures. There were no benches or tables covered in sweats, and there wasn’t a carpet that ran down the hall floor. It was just a hallway, which had many bedrooms. I had never seen any of these rooms. To be honest, they were eerie, and gave of a terrifying darkness.
I jumped when I heard a wardrobe jiggle as I passed by yet another dimly lit room. My curiosity had gotten the better of me, and I entered the room inching towards the wardrobe. I began to reach out for the knob to open the doors, but stopped. Something felt off. I looked around, and found a candlestick. I grabbed the golden decoration, and gripped it tightly in my hand. I swung open the door, stepping back from it. A pop came from inside, and I gulped, praying for it to not be what I thought it was.
A hand reached out, gripping the side of the wardrobe. It was pale, and had long, pointed nails. Before I knew it, the hand was connected to an arm, and that to a body. The body of Lord Voldemort. His snake-like features made goosebumps travel up my arm, I dropped the golden candlestick, hitting the ground with a metallic thud. I searched every pocket I had for my wand, but couldn’t find it. I backed away from the boggart as it walked towards me, in slow smooth strides. Without moving it’s head, it looked down on me. Fear boiled my blood as my back finally made contact with a wall. I slid down the wall, sitting down on the floor as the creature near me. 
It opened its mouth to speak, but before it could, a person ran in front of me, their long, brown hair flowing behind them. The boggart turned with a pop, and transformed into Mr. and Mrs. Stockings. They had evil smiles and a twisted look in their eye that no sane person could conjure.
“You disappointment!” Mr. Stockings spoke in a clearly distorted voice.
“How could you betray us for that swine!” Mrs. Stockings cackled in that same distorted voice.
I could feel the color drain from my face, and my eyes widened. Is this what they were like?
“Riddikulus!” Mary yelled.
With another pop, they were dressed in a circus clowns outfit, oversized shoes and all. Mary was able to force the boggart back into the wardrobe, and shut it quickly, turning the knob to lock it. She panted, putting her hands on her knees, trying to find balance. I stared at her in aw, her figure silhouetted in the moonlight. Her pale eyes glowed in the dim light of the moon. Mary could perform charms and defensive spells better than I could. She was an exceedingly  gifted witch.
“That was… intense.” I sighed.
She looked up at me, and huffed, finally standing. 
“You're lucky I can do that spell.” She walked over to me, and held out a hand.
I took it, and stood back up. She looked up into my eyes. But she looked away, and began towards the door.
“Mary! Wait up!” I called, running up to her.
She continued to walk as I finally caught up to her, slowing my walk.
“Mary, how did you get there on time.” I asked her, panting.
“I was walking around. Found this hall, and heard something coming from one of the rooms. It sounded like whimpering.” She explained. “I found the room, and looked inside, only to see you on the ground whimpering at You-know-who. But there was something about him. He didn’t have that sparkle in his eye that said he was living. Boggarts aren't living creatures, kind of like dementors. They're just there to cause misery.” She paused. “However, It was just a theory. So by stepping in front of you, I was testing my theory. Turns out, I was correct.” 
I looked down at her in amazement. 
“Your boggart is your parents?” I asked
“Naturally.” She said, a slight bark in her words.
I looked at her, my hatred for her parents burning even further. I looked down at the ground, and began to chuckle and shake my head. I had just realised something. “What's so funny? I just saved you!” She hissed.
“You sound like your sister.” I chuckled.
“I do not!” She yelped in protest.
“You do too! I just learned a few new things today! That doesn’t happen every day, you know.” I said back.
“Oh, come off it.” She hissed.
It became silent. The only noise was the soft stomp of our feet against the hardwood floor. She looked at the ground, sniffling. We had made it back into a familiar hall, and Mary stopped in front of a room. She turned the knob, and began inside her room. I followed. She sat on the bed and looked down in her lap, fiddling with her thumbs. I sat across from her on a black leather couch. Still, it was silent.
“It’s my fault.” She sighed.
“What are you talking about? That boggart-”
“I’m not talking about the boggart! Dray, I'm talking about my sister!” She sobbed, looking back up at me.
“Oh.”
Tears were visible on her cheeks. Her eyes were more blue than ever. I was shocked to see the tears, but i couldn’t understand why this was shocking. She had just lost her sister and she thought it was her fault.
“Mary-”
“Don’t patronize me, Draco. Don’t start with ‘it’s not your fault mary.’ Draco! It is my fault!” She cried.
“What do you mean?” I raised an eyebrow, standing up and walking over to the bed.
I sat down next to her, my leg dangling off the edge of the bed.
“She left after getting beaten, because I told them about her and Mart…” Mary leaned into me, “I didn’t mean to.. I was threatened and spelled… I want my sister back…” She sobbed into my chest. 
I hugged her, rubbing her back. I listened to her wet sobbs, wanting to do anything I could to fix this. But I knew I couldn't. Amethyst would be back, I just knew it. Mary and I cuddled together, her head laying on my chest. My arm was wrapped around her waist, and our legs were tangled together. Her soft sobbs filled the atmosphere surrounding us.

Mary had finally fallen asleep. Her soft snores filled the room. I carefully stood up, tucking her in gently.  I quietly shut the guest room door, and made my way towards my room. It was around 1 in the morning, and I was really starting to get tired. I walked through the now familiar hallways, trying to find my room. I passed room after room, until I finally found the hall in which my room was set. Light flooded the hallway, from the open door of my parents bedroom. 
“Lucius, I'm telling you. Mary flinched when I touched her to lead her to her room.” Mother begged.
My curiosity had been sparked with a lighter. I tiptoed through the hall, inching towards my parents room. I listened carefully.
“Cissy, please. It happens. She may have still been startled by what happened earlier. But, who was she talking about, with the whole veritaserum thing? It’s use is restricted, and donah and Bela may be powerful, but they aren’t that gifted. They would have gotten it from Snape or someone similar.” Father eased.
“No Lucius! There is something going on in that house. Something abnormal. And I am going to get to the bottom of it, trust me.” Mother hissed.
Having heard enough, I silently walked into my bedroom. As I lay on my bed, I smiled, knowing they were finally starting to suspect things. I knew Mary was going to get out of there soon. I just knew it… At least… I hoped…

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