Maniacal
Friday, February 16th, 8:37am
Vivienne's POV:
It took an entire day for me to regain my composure after learning about the curse. How could this be happening to me? What does it even entail? It all seems surreal because I feel perfectly fine, never better in fact.
Professor Snape insisted on keeping me safe, yet his idea of safety was confining me to the most dismal place imaginable. The room had only a bare single bed, devoid of sheets or pillows, no other furniture to speak of, and no form of entertainment aside from a few books. It was akin to being trapped in my own personal hell. His cautionary words echoed in my mind: "You must avoid sharp objects and hard surfaces," as though I was ever inclined to harm myself or anyone else. His paranoia knows no bounds.
As I sit in the bleak, empty chamber, my thoughts drift incessantly to Mattheo, praying that he's safe and that the boys are out searching for him. Time seems to lose all meaning as I struggle to recall what day it is or even the time of day. Hunger gnaws at my stomach, boredom gnaws at my mind, and all I desire is to escape this wretched place.
"I'M FINE!" My anguished cry reverberates off the walls of the tiny room. They fear I may lose my sanity, yet it's their decision to confine me like some kind of prisoner that threatens to drive me mad. Collapsing onto the unforgiving bed, I stare blankly at the ceiling, the hard surface beneath me feeling as though it were made of solid concrete. The sound of the door unlocking interrupts my thoughts, and footsteps echo as someone enters.
"Hello?" I call out, my voice tinged with desperation.
"Vivienne!" Draco smiles.
"Oh.. my god!" I run over and hug him.
"Wait, wait, what about Mattheo? Is he alive? Is he safe?" I dart my eyes around his face, waiting for his response.
"Vivienne.. Sit down for a second." He swallows hard.
"Ok, yeah.." I walk over to my 'concrete' bed.
"We got Mattheo back yesterday morning, he's been badly hurt, but he's gonna be fine, I promise." He smiles, grabbing my cold hands.
"Oh thank god, I'm so glad to hear that. How is he?" I sniffle, trying to hold the tears in.
"Right now he's resting, and having his.. wounds taken care of." Draco's smile fades, and he looks away, covering his mouth.
"Draco?" I widen my eyes with concern. He wouldn't look at me, and it caused my anxiety to heighten further.
"I don't want to worry you, you already have enough on your plate at it is.." He closes his eyes tightly, fully turning away, facing the door.
"No, Draco.. What is it?" My breathing quickens, and my heart starts to pound in my chest.
"Mattheo was tortured, really badly, by Tom and his father. His body is completely messed up, and he is struggling to walk." He crinkled his lip with sadness.
"Tom?" I question.
"Yes, Tom, he tortured Mattheo, with his own father." He says.
"Draco.. Who is Tom? Tom who?" I raise an eyebrow. I was genuinely confused.
"Vivienne what..? Tom Riddle, you killed him, wha.. what is going on?" He furrows his brows staring into my eyes.
I laugh uncontrollably as his words.
"Draco, I have no idea what on earth you are talking about, I haven't got a clue who Tom Riddle is, and I sure as hell would know if I killed someone." I smile menacingly. It was strange, I couldn't exactly stop my face from making that expression.
"Vivienne.. are you ok?" Draco's voice seeped with worry, and I wanted to tell him that I was, but I couldn't. My words fail to form in complete sentences, and I felt like I was losing my mind.
"Dr.. Draco.. What is.." I begin, before getting frustrated.
"It's ok, you're gonna be ok." He walks forward, wrapping his long arms around me.
"I don't.. understand." I begin to tear up. I was so confused, I had no idea who this Tom Riddle was, and why was Draco telling me that I killed him?
"Do you remember what happened the night of the love ball?" He asks, rubbing the sides of my arms.
"Ye.. yeah.. I remember dancing, and having a lot of fun, then I went back to my dorm, and I.. I don't.. know." My dart eyes around the room, I felt very anxious and upset. We heard footsteps entering the room, and we both cock our heads towards the door, and Dumbledore appears.
"Good morning Draco, Vivienne." His voice was soft, and calm.
"Morning sir." Draco and I say in sync.
"Sir, can I please talk to you outside?" Draco shoves his hands into his pockets.
"Of course, after you." Dumbledore motions his hand towards the door.
"Sir.." I take a step forward.
"Sit tight, I will be back momentarily." He smiles, before walking out.
Draco's POV:
I walk outside, and sit on the bench, waiting for Dumbledore to close the door.
"Sir, it seems the curse also causes memory loss, she doesn't remember Tom Riddle." I furrow my brows.
"Draco, there's something you need to know." He begins.
"The morning after Vivienne killed Tom, she was absolutely distraught, and wrecked with grief. He violated her, Pansy grew concerned for her well being." He states.
"I know that, she was a mess, but what happened to her memory?" I ask.
"I used a spell, to remove her trauma, for the time being. At some point, I'm going to have to undo the spell, and she will need everyone's support, so she can face the troubles that lay ahead." His voice was stern, yet filled with worry.
"You what? What if there was important information we need to know, about what happened that night?!" I raise my voice.
"Draco, we know what happened, but right now, she is dealing with something far much worse. Remembering Tom Riddle, and what he did, and on top of that, dealing with the curse, she.." His voice trails off.
"She wouldn't survive. She would be in absolute turmoil." I finish his sentence.
"Precisely." He puts his hands behind his back.
"Have you seen Mattheo yet?" I ask.
"I have not, but I will ask him questions, when I know he is well enough." He smiles.
"I'll ask him where the book is, but for now he needs his rest, he's suffered a great deal, but I'm so glad we have him back." I smile back, rubbing my finger across my lower lip.
"What about Snape? Has he found, what was his name again?" I ask.
"Regulus Black, and no, I have not heard from Snape since he left, but I will keep you up to speed as soon as I know more." He paces the hallway, rubbing his forehead. I've truly never seen Dumbledore in this state before, usually he is very calm, and well put together, especially during highly anxious situations. But sometimes I forget that he is just like the rest of us, worried for what is about to, or could happen, and so I don't ask questions.
"I've notified Vivienne's parents of her condition, and they are on their way. So I shall make myself scarce, for now." He looks at me intently.
"Of course sir." I say, getting up from the bench.
"DRACO!" I hear Theo shout from down the hallway, and I turn my head to face him.
"What is it?!" My breathing quickens, I hate thinking of worst case scenarios, but it was all I could do.
"Mattheo is awake, he's talking." He smiles. What a relief. I look back at Dumbledore, and he nods.
"Give him my best." Dumbledore smiles.
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Theo and I run into the common room, where Blaise, Enzo and Pansy were.
"He's awake, do you want us to come with you?" Pansy asks.
"No, you guys stay here, Theo and I will ask the questions." I let out a deep breath. We walk into Mattheo's dorm, seeing him propped up against his headboard, with bandages on.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" I ask, sitting down on the bed beside him.
"Still in a lot of pain, but I have a lot more energy now that I've eaten." He says. His eyes were all bloodshot and he kept squeezing them shut every few seconds.
"So, where's Vivienne?" He asks, a smile showing on his bruised and banged up face.
"That's.. why we are here, and for another reason." I begin.
"Ok, so?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Mattheo.. Vivienne is cursed." I take in a deep breath. He looks at Theo and I, and starts laughing.
"Good one." He titters.
"Actually Mattheo, it's true. Tom cursed himself, and when Vivienne killed him, it rebound." Theo rubs the back of his neck.
"On to the next thing, where is the black book? Dumbledore says it has reversal spells, for the curse." I say.
"Wait, you guys are fucking serious?" Mattheo's eyes widen with worry.
"Yes, and right now, we need to now where the book is, it's very important Mattheo, she can be cured." I stand from the bed.
"No, no. I need to see her, now." His breathing quickens, and he tries to get out of bed.
"Mattheo, stay in bed, you cannot see her yet!" I hold onto his shoulders.
"Get the fuck off me, I want to see my girlfriend!" He groans, standing up. He collapses to the floor, wincing in pain, and starts crying.
"Mattheo, please.." Theo sighs.
"I bet you've seen her haven't you Theo? I know you are in love with my girlfriend. God, you think you can just take her away from me? Is that why I can't see her? Because you've brain washed her into leaving me, that you're keeping her away?!" He yells, gripping the sides of his abdomen.
"Mattheo you are being ridiculous! Vivienne is my friend, I care about her. I wouldn't take her away from you, she loves you!" Theo shouts.
"She's being kept safe because of the curse, she could hurt herself, and others." I grab his arm, and place him back into the bed.
"Who gives a fuck about the curse, or if it's even real, I want to see her now." He snarls, closing his eyes. I sigh, rubbing my forehead.
"Fine, but tell us where the book is first." I widen my eyes, and place my hands on my hips. Mattheo hesitates for moment, before opening his lips.
"It's under a big rock at the black lake." He rolls his eyes.
"A big rock? Be more specific, there's about a million of them." I raise an eyebrow.
"The big rock near the tree, I marked it with an X." He says.
"Thank you.." I smile.
"I think we need to get Dumbledores permission, before we go see Vivienne." Theo squints his eyes. Mattheo scoffs, and tries to stand from the bed once more. He wobbles to his feet, and eventually stands.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
"No, I'm in fucking pain, but I don't care, I'm seeing my girlfriend whether Dumbledore gives me permission or not." He groans.
"Theo, can you help take him? I'm gonna go to the black lake." I take a deep breath.
"Yeah, come on let's go see Vivienne, Mattheo." Theo grabs his arm.
"My girlfriend, she's my girlfriend." Mattheo curls up his lip in annoyance.
"Yes, your girlfriend, you've made that perfectly clear." Theo rolls his eyes.
"Just making sure you know." Mattheo smirks.
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Mattheo's POV:
I struggled to walk down the hallway, and needed to take a break, my ribs were on fire, and every movement, every stumbling step I took, felt like I was being stabbed with an ice pick, but I was determined to see my princess, I missed her so fucking much. Theo helps me as I wobble, and almost collapse.
"Are you sure you're up for this? You can barely stand, and you're starting to sweat!" Theo huffs.
"Yes.. Just.. hold on to me will you?!" I scoff.
"She's in here." He groans, still gripping my arm tightly. We both try to open the door, but it's locked.
"Vivienne?!" I shout, hoping she would hear me. There was no answer, maybe Dumbledore used a silencing spell or something.
I was sat outside the door, I could barely stand, the pain was immense, but all I wanted in that very moment was to see Vivienne. To hold her, kiss her, and tell her everything was going to be alright.
I ended up hearing her voice, but it was strange, I couldn't understand a word of what she was saying, it was almost like she was speaking a different language.
"Vivienne? It's me, it's Mattheo." I say, pressing my hand against the wooden door. She wouldn't answer me, and her voice was getting louder.
"Tom.. kill, kill, kill!!!!" She yells, repeating, over and over.
"Theo, there's something wrong." My eyes grew tense. Theo puts his ear up towards the door, and immediately ran down the hallway.
"What?!" I yell.
"She's manic, it's part of the curse, we need to get dumbledore right now!!" He shouts.
As soon as he disappeared, my anxiety was through the roof. The door was locked, even using a spell did absolutely nothing. She was on the other side, losing her god damn mind, and there was nothing I could do to help her.
"Mattheo..." She growls.
"It's ok princess, we are getting you help! I love you.. I fucking love you so much, just hang on ok." I begin to tear up.
Theo comes back with Dumbledore, who runs towards the door, and he opens it. He rushes inside, and there she was, sitting in the middle of the floor, curled up, shaking and sweating profusely, chanting over and over.
"You boys need to leave, NOW!" Dumbledore shouts.
Vivienne reacts to Dumbledores loud and stern voice, quickly getting to her feet, and she makes a run for it.