Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE FOLLOWING. august 31st, 1996.
AS THE DAYS WENT ON, ANASTASIA FOUND THAT ISOLATION HAD BEGUN TO TAKE A TOLL ON HER MENTAL HEALTH. She refused to speak to anyone, her thoughts ravaged by the Dark Lord more than they had ever been. She found that the second she put the necklace on, he was no longer muffled within her mind. He spoke with brute force; urged her to do things that sent chills down her spine.
The first thing she noticed was the way that Potter began to react around her. She noticed the second glances he would send her way, his eyes always falling to the chain tucked beneath her collar. She knew that he had suspicions of her newfound jewelry, his gaze always a beat too long.
She had only just made it into the Great Hall when she met Draco's eyes for the first time in days, her attention instantly falling to the floor as she backpeddled out of the room. She didn't know why she was overcome with fear at the contact, only aware that she had no words to say to him and yet she could feel his presence in the corridor behind her.
"Anastasia," he spoke up, his feet carrying him after her retreating body as she failed to stop. In fact, the sound only pushed her to move a bit faster, her steps echoing off of the walls as she continued to twist and turn throughout the corridors.
"Anastasia!"
The girl lost her footing on his second outburst, her body falling momentarily until Draco caught her arm, pulling her up and into his body as he looked down at her. He could see that the corner of her lips had turned upwards into a snarl, her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "What is it that you possibly need so bad—"
"You've gone into the dark, Stassie. You've shut me out without a word as to why," Draco cut off her almost instantly, his eyes equally as invaded by anger as her own were. She could tell that she had upset him and yet the whispers in her mind told her to care little about his emotions.
"I don't need you, Draco. I don't need you to run about the castle to try and follow me when it is clear that I do not want to be followed," she spat, pulling against his grip with failure as he continued to clutch her arm in his hand. He saw the flicker of anger within her eyes and his own fell to the chain around her neck with a frown.
"It's the necklace, isn't it? I've seen the way you've changed. When is the last time you looked in a mirror, Anastasia?" He whispered, his free hand coming up to trace the prominent bones that showed beneath her skin. He noticed the way her skin had lost its color, purple painted beneath her eyes as they sunk inwards. She looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks.
Anastasia flinched from his touch, the chain burning her skin as the Dark Lord began to grow panicked with Draco's emotional attachment to his vessel. He feared that he had picked the wrong child to bestow his trust in, his thoughts ravaging her own.
