When Your Parents Tell You Bedtime Stories

14

To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.

~ Thomas Campbell

"There was this land of fire rain and ashes, it was terrible. And in it there was this prince."

I am the prince. And my world was terrible. Hate, little emotion, and nothing but abuse and lies.

"Now, in another world, far away, there was this commoner. Her name was Cassiopeia."

She was my Cassiopeia. The commoner, and my savior.

"Now, Cassiopeia came from a land called Apus, rich in wonderment. Unlike Betelgeuse's world the people were happy and at peace."

We were from two different worlds. Her's was beautiful, mine not worthy of the beauty.

"Well one day Cassiopeia stumbled across an odd character."

That bastard. And it was all my fault.

"He convinced Cassiopeia that he could take her to another world. She went with him. Somehow they got separated in the passageway between the worlds and Cassiopeia ended up in Orion, the land where Betelgeuse lives."

She ended up in my world. Somehow, she ended up in that horrible place. I am Betelgeuse.

"Now, Cassiopeia did run into Betelgeuse. She told him about how great her world is and gave him ideas of how his could prosper."

My world became something because of her. She was everything good in my world.

"Well, eventually Betelgeuse fell in love with Cassiopeia."

I did. I fell, long and hard. I never knew if she ever loved me back.

"Cassiopeia was homesick. So Betelgeuse tired to find someone he thought might be able to take her back to say goodbye, or to join their two worlds permanently."

She didn't belong in my world. She needed her perfect world. I should of known they would never be able to diverge together, but I didn't.

"He found an apothecary owner by the name of Horologium."

That was my conscience. The part of me that knew I really did love her. The part that told me I needed to spend forever with her. It actually thought it was possible.

"Betelgeuse was ecstatic. See, he had finally found what had been missing from his life; love. Orion was becoming a beautiful place by the time Cassiopeia left. But something went wrong. In the passageway, she ran into Eridanus again. He kidnapped Cassiopeia and took her back to a world far worse than Orion. This world was a dead barren land with nothing but cruel people. This action caused the passageway between all worlds to close forever."

I was elated when I thought it might be possible. I had finally found my missing piece; her. But he stopped me. He was always there. Eridanus, Blaise, whatever name he may go by, he was there. And he kept her from me. He prevented me from happiness until finally it was too late. Now I can never have what I once dreamed of. I will never know how she felt about me or how it would feel to be loved. She's dead. In a world far worse then mine. A place where time stops and there is no end to a day. She has nothing but memories now.

"Horologium realized that by attempting to cross paths of the two opposite worlds it had a catastrophic effect. The two worlds weren't meant to ever know each other. That's why some say Cassiopeia was kidnapped; she couldn't know what both worlds were like."

I can't let him win. There's still a chance for the two worlds to create something beautiful. Persephone is both worlds. Mine and her mother's. But he will destroy all of her as he did Hermione. He will haunt her so she may never be happy. I can't let that happy. The bedtime story will not end the same way it had when I told it time and time again.

"Well, Cassiopeia never returned and Betelgeuse became so depressed about he completely forgot about his world. Orion eventually became so horrible that people couldn't live there anymore. Eventually Betelgeuse died broken-hearted and Orion fell into nothing but history."

Draco Malfoy would change the ending. Draco Malfoy would change fate. He stood, throwing the brandy glass into the fire and made his way back to Hogwarts where the others were waiting. And, for the second time in his life, as he thought about the person that now made up his world and the person that once had, Draco Malfoy let a cruel, bitter tear slip down his cheek.