Behind the Shadows [Book One]

Chapter Twenty-One:

[[A/N: woot woot second chapter today! This will probably be the last one of this book; I'm working on book 2 now, it will be called "Within the shadows", I'll let you know when the first chapter is up :)

For the 3 of you who read the last chapter before this one was posted, I cut off a couple of paragraphs from that chapter to add it to this one because I felt it went better here. Anyways, I hope you all like it! Leave me some comments to let me know what you think, please?]]

Chapter Twenty-One:

Most students would stay at Hogwarts this holiday, it was warm and not a Wizard holiday, it existed mostly for the Muggle borns but even then not many bothered to celebrate it at their ages. It was better to be able to spend a couple of weeks with all your friends, without school, or your parents getting in your way.

It's too bad I didn't have that option, of course. The letter sent made it sound like a request, but in reality it was a nicely concealed command. Come home now, we have people who wish to see you this holiday season.

Granted, I was excited to show everyone the new spell I'd managed to invent in my time in the Black Forest. It had taken the entire four months back to school to perfect it but now I was certainly ready to show it off; this one was something to be proud of without a doubt.

Diaboli Laqueum Alligandi Bitis was a mouthful, but I'd not been able to find a shortening of words that would do what this was supposed to. It could, I think, be labeled a defensive charm, but it has the potential to be just as dangerous as many other curses.

It will bind someone with Devil's Snare and depending on the words you say after, it can do one of three things; Torture, Kill or Release.For example, after saying the first four words, if you were to say Libero, it would set them free from the Devil's Snare, if you say Mortifico, it will kill them (painfully), and if you say Torqueo, they'll be tortured with the vines of the plant; it will cut off oxygen and then release, or it will slowly pierce its way slowly through flesh. At least that was what I was hoping it would do, I was only able to try it on a tree, but once I get home I'm confident the Dark Lord will supply me with a human to test it out on.

The ride seemed annoyingly slow, and I wished nearly the whole way to King's Cross Station that I knew how to apparate but that wouldn't come until my seventh year. Perhaps I could talk father into buying me a tutor, I thought about halfway through the ride, before falling into a fitful sleep full of Death Eaters and Dark Lords.

***

"Amaryllis, thank you for coming. Your aunt has been looking forward to seeing you for quite some time now," Mother was careful not to say Bella's name aloud, she was supposed to be in Azkaban prison for life but had broken out just in the summer.

Though that was nearly a year ago, there were many still looking for her.

"I invented something else, I really want to show her! She'll love it so much, I just know it."

Narcissa Malfoy was always beautiful, and usually looked at everything with an optimistic look but now.. she just looked worried. "What's the matter, mum?" Her white and black hair was up in a bun, her pretty pouty lips smiled wanly at me.

"Father's friend wishes to speak to you as soon as you arrive, he has a present for you." That is all she would say on the matter. The manor looked no different upon our arrival, the bushes grew the same length and width, the small fountain was still filled with koi fish and each window in the small mansion was shined to perfection. All was as it usually was, except for the anxiety that seemed to pass through both Mother and Father as they looked at me.