Life of a Black (Sequel to Life of a Malfoy)

Seeing the Broken

I fell into a dreamless sleep the second my eyes closed. Power surged through me as I floated endlessly in the darkness. Seconds later, I disappeared and felt myself drift back into my body.

I was in a daze as I attempted to open my eyes. I let out a sigh as I peeled them open. An arm was wrapped around my body, and my face was resting against a chest. I was cocooned in Harry's body, and I glanced out the small window to see the light up. I instantly began to panic.

I had fallen asleep in the same bed with Harry. We weren't even together! I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and he stirred beneath me. His lids fluttered open, and he gazed at me.

"Good morning," he said, ever so calm. The sound of his voice was sweet, and my fear melted. I met his eyes, and smiled.

"Hi," I made out through my confused expression.

"Sleep alright?" he asked. I nearly laughed, but instead held a grin on my face. He could obviously tell, because that had been the first night in weeks I had slept without any nightmares, memories, flashbacks, or been awakened mid-sleep.

"I slept lovely," I told him, and lied back down against him. He began to play with my hair, and he was twisting my hair in his fingers.

It felt so wrong being held in his arms, yet my heart longed for more. Would we have been like this two months ago, after Dumbledores death, had I told him everything?

"That's good. It's nice to see you not being so hostile and yelling." I made a sour face at Harry when he said that. "Only joking," He added. I rolled my eyes at him, and nestled my head until it fit perfectly into his body.

"It's nice to not have Hermione nagging after me," I pointed out, and he let out a chuckle.

"Thank you," I whispered, and looked back to him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"For what?"

"For trying so hard to get me back to normal." My eyes filled with tears. He put his arms around me again, and stroked the hair falling down my back. "All I've done is push you away. I don't deserve you to be here." There was a pause.

"No, I don't deserve to have you here. It's my fault you've been through everything," He told me, and wiped the tear that fell down my face. He then took my forearm and looked at the dried blood gashes lining my arm. Taking his thumb, he traced the outline of the gashes. "How did you do that?" I considered not telling him, but then realized that would only cause more problems.

"I woke myself up from a.. A flashback.." I mumbled, unable to say much more. He nodded.

"What was it of?" he asked, and I pressed my lips together. How easy was it to explain my whippings? "Sorry. You don't have to tell me." He added, seeing my expression. We were friends though, right? Aren't you supposed to tell your friends things?

"It's fine. It was when I was, uh, whipped.." I said, taking a deep breath. "Nineteen times." My throat choked up, and he started to play with my hair again.

"You're okay now," he told me, and I gave a weak smile.

"I can never forget anything, no matter how hard I try. Scars cover my body." I tried to look away and avoid his eyes.

"I have scars too." I grinned, and touched the small lightening bolt on his head.

"Mine aren't shaped all fancy like yours though," I informed him. "Unless if you count this fancy." I showed him my left arm, cut into the shape of the dark mark. He held out his own, our scars nearly matching. "We're twins." He smiled, and brushed the hair out of my face. We held each others eye contact for a moment, then I blinked.

"Why can't everything be like it was before?" I completely ruined the moment. He shook his head and shrugged. I sighed. "If you could go back and change anything, what would you change?" I asked him, already knowing the answer.

"That night." Knew it. "You?"

"I would have snapped Bellatrix's neck while I could in that tower," I answered hollowly. He laughed dryly, as if feeling remorse. "So that she wouldn't have been able to torture me like she did."

"Why did she torture you?" he questioned, then opened his mouth again. "Wait, stupid question. You don't have to answer that." But he didn't know the answer.

"She tortured me because she thought I knew information about you," I told him.

"But you were locked up in the manor for ages, how would you know?" I shook my head.

"No idea. She thought that I had been told everything, but I knew nothing."

"So she tortured you endlessly for information you didn't have?"

"I thought I was going to go insane like the Longbottoms," I confessed sadly.

"What kept you sane?" He wondered. I couldn't answer him. I sealed my mouth shut and began to play with my sweatshirt zipper. We sat there for a couple of moments, still as ever. "Lexa?" he asked again. I swallowed. Secrets were tearing us apart. I needed to tell him.

"The fact that I knew everyone was still alive. I would tell myself that once I broke out of that place, I still had a family of friends," I whispered. I still could not bring myself to look him in the eyes. Once he realized it, he began to play with my hair.  

I closed my eyes again, and darkness swallowed me instantly.

"My lord, she's still breathing." Bellatrix pointed out. My eyes scanned over the scene and I saw a crumpled figure on the ground surrounded by blood. Was that me? I never remembered Bellatrix saying anything like that before, though. It wasn't a flashback. This was real.

I gasped as the body on the ground started to raise, the brunette hair limply hanging at her sides. She looked up with wild eyes and my heart stopped. I would never forget those piercing grey eyes anywhere.

"Why don't you just kill me, now that you've had your fun?" Ariel hissed in her demeaning American accent. Goosebumps grazed over my body as she spoke, her voice chilling my bones.

"Master, please, let me do the honors," Bellatrix nearly begged.

"We have a word for you in America," Ariel started. "It's Bitch. That's what we call you." The corner of her lip turned up in a smirk, and I watched as Bellatrix raked her fingernails across Ariel's face, the blood flowing back down her face. Ariel's screams turned into sharp pitches of laughter. My blood was frozen in my veins.

"Finish her," whispered Voldemort's snake voice. I could only hear the screams in my ears and see the bright flash of green lights before my eyes snapped open.