Voldemort's Death Eater

11) Hedwig

Weeks went by without seeing anyone from the wizarding world. My parents were starting to give me a headache and I found myself missing the ugly sight of Lucius Malfoy sneering at me every time we walked into the same room as each other.

     Lucky for me, Tyto was there to keep me company whenever I felt alone and shut off from my world. I was able to keep my cuts and bruises hidden pretty well from my parents. The only thing they noticed wrong with me was the two long, ugly scars that started at my left eye and ran down my chest.

     They didn’t notice them until the second day I was with them and I was capable of coming up with a lie on the spot, telling them that I had some trouble in one of my classes. No one but Draco could ever know how I actually obtained them.

     Everyday I was getting sent a letter carried with one of the Malfoy’s family owls. The first few letters I opened were all from Draco asking me to come back and hoping I was alright. Sometimes he would be so sweet as to send me chocolates and wished I felt better about my horrible torture session with Bellatrix.

     I couldn’t bring myself to answer one of his letters. Still needing more time to think, I set them all aside and eventually stopped opening his letters. They all practically said the same thing; he missed me, wanted me to come home and be with my real family. But I hoped he would realize I didn’t exactly want to stay in the same house as The Dark Lord himself for a long period of time before school went back.

     Feeling sorry for Draco having to stay with The Dark Lord, I concluded that it was also his own fault for staying in the dark side and becoming a Death Eater. I accepted the fact now that we both had made the same wrong decision and that there was no way out of it. But I didn’t stop thinking of a way out.

     Taking my time walking down the streets of my neighbourhood, the late July air was still. This walk was to help me feel relaxed but there was something in the air that didn’t sit right. The Dark Lord hadn’t called for me since I took Harry away from him and it was starting to worry me. It wasn’t like The Dark Lord at all. I wasn’t sure if he still wanted me to find Harry and get on his good side again so I hadn’t done anything about that. I was positive he would most likely be at the Weasley’s place, pretending their mother was his and that everything was alright.

     I wasn’t lying when I said Harry loved me, or at least cared about me. It was obvious he did since I could remember but I didn’t find Gryffindor boys attractive at all. Something about the colours of red and gold that reminded me of doing good and heroes or maybe it was the idea of being a Gryffindor that made me sick to my stomach.

     My muggle made iPod blasted loud muggle music into my ears. It felt nice to listen to music after having to listen to teachers telling you what to do all the time and to study hard for the end of school exams. One more year and I would be free…from school, at least, but it was one less thing to worry about.

     Wondering how things would be like at Hogwarts when term started with Snape as headmaster, I almost missed a flashing light. I stopped me in my tracks, unsure what I just saw behind my eyelids. Opening my eyes, I looked around to see what it could have been. It was late; probably around midnight and there was no one outside except me for miles.

     Flashes of light continued to light up the sky above. This time I saw they were right above me but there was nothing in the sky, that I could see, but clouds. A loud motor sound echoed through the streets but there was no physical evidence of what was making the noise. No one was driving anything through these streets.

     Walking off the road and thinking I’d feel safer on the sidewalk, a dim flash of green light lit up the sky and the loud motor sound drifted away. Before I could take one step, something small and white fell to the ground with a tiny thud. Lying in the middle of the road, I slowly approached it to see what it was.

     ‘Hedwig?’ I said aloud, kneeling down next to the fainted bird. But its chest wasn’t rising and falling.

     I began to panic and wonder what had happened up in the clouds to seriously hurt, or kill, Harry Potter’s pet owl. Was he in the area? Did Harry just fly above me? Or did his owl run into some trouble as it was delivering a letter?

     Seeing no letter to its leg, I scooped his little body up in my arms and headed back home. He was still warm, but he didn’t seem to be breathing. I started at a run and hurried upstairs to my room, placing Hedwig gently on my bed and having no idea what to do with her.

     Almost an hour went by as I paced my floor, thinking what to do with her. I had always admired Hedwig; she was a beautiful and loyal owl to Harry and he was lucky to have her. I began to bite my nails as I stared at her body, still not seeing her chest rise and fall. I couldn’t let such a small animal lay injured or dead. Perhaps she was breathing, but very light and slowly. I was too scared to touch her again; fearing she had slipped out of her body.

     When I turned around to face the window, thinking, a flapping noise sounded in my room. I stay frozen, frowning, until I turned around and saw Hedwig was in a different position on my bed.

     ‘Hedwig?’ I whispered, bending over her body to see if she would move again.