Surprising turn - a turn for the better? Or into madness ... (Draco Ff)

Chapter 16 ~ The true letter is poetic in nature

Viktorias Pov.

Something was wrong today.
Something was different from the other days before.
I was halfway reconciled with Draco, but not in the way my heart would have liked.
We were now friends.
Actually, he didn't do anything wrong.
I had told him that it was over, that we should remain friends and that he should forget our time together.

In the great hall it was loud as always, everyone clinked their glasses, jingled their cutlery and talked excitedly, for whatever reason, across all the house tables.
The teachers were also talking to each other in high spirits.
Only I sat quietly on the Slytherin house table, absently poking at my breakfast.
Why can sveryone be so happy and excited, especially at this time and the idea of ​​a long day at school.
I have been very withdrawn for the last few days.
I sat alone, ate alone, and generally spent my entire day alone.
A lot had changed since I got a letter from Narcissa.
She wrote:

Dear Victoria!

I am writing to you because your own mother cannot or she is not interested in you anyway.
Now to my concern, why I am writing you a letter in the first place.
The dark lord let me tell you that he is expecting you in 2 days.
You're supposed to show at Malfoy Manor at 8:00 p.m. He has something to talk to you about, I guess.
And otherwise?
Is Draco okay?
How are you getting on with your task?
You don't have to answer me in a letter, we will hopefully see you in 2 days anyway.
Don't be late and come alone.

Narcissa Malfoy

When the dark lord instructs a person to appear alone, it is never a good sign.
What do you think the dark lord wants to discuss with me?
I did not know it...
Strictly speaking, I didn't want to know, but with today's meeting, it would be best to just get it over with.
I was jerked out of my thoughts when Zabini and Draco suddenly stood in front of me and looked at me waiting.
Both of them sat down across from me without being asked, and looked at me expectantly.
I looked both of them in the eye and waited for now.
I purposely stopped by Zabini's eyes and ignored Draco as ice-cold.
Since I knew that Blaise Zabini was just always doing this great, I didn't avert my gaze, I knew very well that he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
And I should be right, Zabini turned his gaze towards the tabletop and Draco bowed his head as well.
"Hey Viktoria, don't you want to sit with us, because-" Zabini began and Draco finished the sentence that had begun, "you've been acting so strangely in the last few days, withdraw and prefer to stay to yourself?"
Without even giving a hint of answering, I rose from the table and left the great hall, noticing the whispering at the Gryffindor table.
I decided to go down to the lake to clear my head and prepare myself mentally for the meeting with the dark lord.
I just didn't think that it was already November and that it was already pretty cold.

Why on earth is my life so difficult?
Why is nothing easy?
Why does the universe mean it so hard with me?
These are some of the thoughts that were constantly going through my head at the moment.
I haven't had enough sleep for weeks, I couldn't sleep more than 2 hours, I didn't eat enough either, my appetite has been gone for months and psychologically I was just a wreck.
Like a glass that once fell on the floor and was only glued together with necessity, but the slightest touch threatens to shatter.
I walked slowly up and down the Hogwarts grounds.
I noticed that I was lacking the strength more and more.
Because if I threatened to collapse just taking a walk, I didn't know how to go on for the next few months.
But my thoughts are interrupted when I suddenly began to sway, my vision was covered more and more by black spots and I sank to my knees until I finally passed out in the middle of the Hogwarts grounds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was woken up by a strange, numb feeling on my fingers about how long I must have been lying here.
I got up swaying on my trembling legs and as I stood I noticed that the moon was already rising, which meant that I had better hurry not to be late for the dark lord's meeting.
Still swaying a lot, I slowly began to walk forward to the Hogwarts apparition line.
At first I just walked because my body did not allow a faster pace after the many hours in which it was lying in the cold.
But somehow I managed to defend myself against my body and started to run.
I ran as fast as I could, tripping over my own legs again and again, but kept pulling myself up and running on until I reached the apparition line and I was squeezed through a hose and swayed to a standstill in front of Malfoy Manor ...  .