Devia Lupus

4-Ghost of My Past

I was swimming. It was that simple. I was out in the middle of the ocean, nothing in sight, and I was floating about the warm waves. The ripples of water caressed my body, and I could feel my wounds beginning to heal-at least on the outside.

The long gash on my shoulder, one that had been there and had bled every day since I was five, began to knit itself together. The same went for the lashes on my back, the bullet lodged in my ribcage, and the scar across my blind eye. I felt brand-new, like I had just been born...

I floated for a while longer, savoring the moment, until I heard a slight splash of water. Awkwardly turning around, I saw it. The stairway.

The stairway led down-a whirlpool whipped around it, except for one slip of bridge. The stairs and the bridge were composed of...solidified water? No...that would be ice...the stairs and bridge were composed of water that was more like Jell-O...

I quickly climbed onto the bridge, my bare feet leaving ripples on its surface. I walked forward, and descended the stairs into Hell.

The "real" description of Hell is where all your fears and all of your sins gather. Not for me.

I stepped onto the floor of Hell-an obsidian black floor that I couldn't feel. All around me, the water swirled in a cocoon of darkness. I stared at the waves as the stairway retracted, swearing that I saw a shark or too in there. The waves crashed down, smothering me in their sudden frigidness, and I blinked. When my eyes opened, I was in a dark room-was it a room?

No...it was more like a mass of darkness...like I had been blinded, deafened and rendered mute all in one moment. It stayed that way for a while, and I was beginning to wonder when he would show up, when, of course, he did.

He started as a ball of black energy, hovering a distance from me. How I could see it, I didn't know. He advanced forward, slowly taking shape.

In the end, he stood a few feet from me, clean and pristine in a black suit. He held a black cane with a silver snake head on top. His hair, too bright in this dark place, was sleek and tied back with a black ribbon.

The Devil.

My grandfather.

"Hello, Scorpius," As usual, he sounded too...affectionate. Why couldn't he ever get to the point?

"Hello, my Lord," I said.

He narrowed his eyes, and instantly, I was on the ground, fresh whip lashes dripping blood down my back. I showed no emotion-I was good at that.

"Do not be arrogant to me, boy!" he snapped.

"Yes, my Lord," I said. I supposed that humoring him would be the wisest idea.

"Get up!" he snarled, and I was instantly on my feet, my black silk shirt once again covering my back.

I didn't look him in the eye, however much I wished to. He would assuredly cause me pain, and although I couldn't feel the full extent of the damage here, I would back home.

"Now," he said, his voice deadly calm. "I have a surprise for you, my dear boy." He motioned with a black-gloved hand, and instantly, another ball of black energy was forming next to him.

It was Severus.

I almost let my face betray my giddiness, but I quickly pulled it into check.

"I will allow you two six minutes to catch up-no interference whatsoever." I didn't take his word for it, but I thanked him anyways before he disappeared.

The potions master, his face reserved, stood silently, not knowing how I would respond to him. He was still in his mid to late thirties, although he had been cooped up in Hell for at more than twenty years.

He was my great-godfather. My father had treasured him, and I remember reading something that he had written. "I wish that he was my father. He wouldn't force me to take the Mark, knowing that it was a life of hell and pain..."

I surveyed him, before crossing the distance between us with a few steps and hugging him tight. He stiffened briefly, before relaxing and wrapping his arms around me, stroking my hair. Although I was tall, he was still taller, and I buried my face in his chest.

I felt like crying, but I knew that it wouldn't come. "I miss you," I whispered instead, just loud enough for him to hear.

He pulled back and looked me in the eye, his usually vacant ones softening. "The feeling's mutual," he said.

We spent our few moments together talking about my school work and my music and my art, until the Devil re-appeared. He caught us in the middle of a brief hug, for we knew our time was almost up, and he snickered.

"What a touching moment," he said. I braced myself mentally. He couldn't bear the thought of anything sentimental, so we would most likely be punished. Severus, a captor here for a long time now, was no more prepared for what went on next than I was.

"Ego vomica vos tergum ut depths of Abyssus , ut subsisto illic pro six annus in admonitio of meus prestantia!" he hissed.

My eyes widened. "No!" I shouted, then fell quiet as the Devil whirled around and pointed a long finger at Severus.

The last thing I saw was Severus' look of utter horror as blackness consumed him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up with a muffled scream, my face pressed into my pillows. I flipped myself over, breathing heavily.

I wiped the sweat off my face, and tried to calm my frantic heart. Only times like this could I feel it-the rest, it was dormant.

Six years...I thought. I wouldn't speak to Severus for six years. The prospect was nearly enough to make me commit suicide-if I could have.

I rolled my head to the side to check the clock. Four thirty-six. Great. Now I would never fall back asleep.

I pushed myself off of the sweat-covered bed, and climbed my way onto the roof, sitting down. Seeing Elisa the other night must have triggered something in my mind that had alerted the Devil to her presence. He must have realized that I longed to see someone from my childhood, and that the best way to cause me grief was to show me then take them away.

Curse him.

"Scorpius?"

I twisted around, spotting the Weasley girl...what was her name? Lily...Daisy...Rosemar-Rose!

She looked to have just come from the Astronomy Tower, which was close to my spot. Her clothes were a bit rumpled, her lipstick smeared and her hair slightly tangled. Her large brown eyes sought mine, and she blushed as she realized that I knew where she had been.

She smoothed her vibrant hair down, and tugged her shirt a bit until it was almost wrinkle-free.

She studied me. "What are you doing out here?"

I didn't want to talk to here. "I don't see how it's any of your business," I said coldly. She twisted her lip, a nervous habit, I guess.

"No, I guess it's not. Whatever, continue moping," she turned and slowly started her way back up the slanted roof to the Astronomy Tower.

Slightly pissed off, I ignored her and jumped off the edge of the roof. I heard her shriek, and I smiled to myself.

Landing lightly, I took off running, kicking off my shoes and as soon as I felt her peer over the side of the roof and seek me out with he eyes, I Changed. With my hearing even more intense then usual, I heard her gasp again. She sounded ready to pass out.

I loped across the grass, forgetting my problems. Changing was a good way to do that, whether your soul belonged to the Devil or not.