As I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Chapter 9: Ashes, Ashes

I’ll paint it on the walls

Cause I’m the one at fault

I’ll never fight again

And this is how it ends

I pull my knees closer to my body.

Harry is dead.

Dead.

I shake my head in disbelief for what must be the millionth time.

No.

He can’t be.

Can’t.

No.

I close my eyes and am nearly floored by gut wrenching images.

Blank green eyes staring up at me from a broken and bloodied face.

Blood drenched grass.

Thousand of bodies.

Horrible screams piercing the cool night air.

The crimson sky.

So much red. So much blood.

Harry is dead. And the world as I know it has been destroyed.

Death litters the streets.

There is no silence. Only terrified cries in the night.

No fairy tale ending.

I know who it is that wants me.

He thinks he knows who I am. That is why Tom returned to me.

Malfoy wants me as well.

He tries to take me over with harsh, demanding kisses.

I am sick of people trying to take me over.

Tricking me.

Destroying everything that I love.

A flash of red.

Fire. Beautiful flames infusing me with incredible strength.

I am screaming. The walls and floor begin to shake.

I realize that I am on my feet, and I can feel the earth trembling under the soles of my old and worn shoes.

Bits of stone are falling around me.

I focus my eyes on the barred door and let the crackling energy flow from my fingers.

It falls away, smoke rising from the place where it had been.

Without a second thought, I step into the dark and empty corridor.

My vision is flooded with red.

All is fire.

Ashes, ashes.

They will all fall down.

Chapter 10: And She Burns

Today is on fire

The sky is beating above me

And I am blistered

I sense her before I see her.

The air is practically vibrating with the raw power that I have only ever felt from her.

Of course, no one else notices the sharp change in the atmosphere. No. They are too worried about their sinister plans for that power. They want to harness it, as I myself attempted less than an hour ago.

But it will not work.

I would tell them that, but they wouldn’t listen. I am not yet one of them. And in this circle, my father’s influence does nothing for me.

So, even as the ground begins to tremble beneath my well polished shoes, I say nothing.

I am not an idiot. I know very well that it is her doing. Soon they will know it, too. I feel no sense of loyalty toward Voldemort, however much I agree with his beliefs. He thinks himself far more powerful than he actually is.

"Find her," Voldemort hisses at the Death Eater kneeling at his feet. "Or I shall kill you."

"That won’t be necessary."

She speaks in a flat, empty voice, stepping out from her place in the shadows.

Her hair has turned a dark, rich crimson. It reminds me of the blood that pooled on the ground that night.

Skin as pale as moonlight, nearly translucent.

Carmine lips set in a straight line.

Scarlet eyes blazing, yet cold and hollow. Emotionless.

Fixed upon Voldemort.

Voldemort smiles. It is truly a horrible sight.

"Well, if it isn’t the talented Miss Weasley. You gave us quite a fright," he says in his chilling voice.

She crosses her arms over her chest, raises one eyebrow. "Did I? How?" She sounds bored, as if she is discussing the weather.

"Your cell was empty. We feared you had escaped," came the answer of the still-kneeling Death Eater.

She laughs then, an echoing, dead sound. "And if I had? What then? Would you have killed some more of these disgusting men?" she asks, gesturing to the crowd of black-cloaked Death Eaters. "Tell me, what do you want with me, Tom? I grow weary of your games."

"Virginia, Virginia. Not one to waste time, are we? Then I shall tell you. I wish for you to join me. Help me take over, and you shall rule by my side."

"You have promised me this before, Tom. You promised me many things. It is your nature to lie. "

"Your power is immeasurable. You could do great things with that power. We could do great things."

The ground gives a slight tremble beneath my well polished shoes. Her eyes are flashing dangerously. She steps forward.

"You seek my power, yet you know naught of it. Perhaps I should teach you a lesson."

Before Voldemort can even flinch, the magic passes through the air.

I am brought to my knees by the most excruciating pain I have ever known.

My blood is burning, boiling. Thousands of white hot knives are slicing into me. I feel as though I am being ripped apart from inside out.

The room is up in flames, smoke stinging my eyes.

Just seconds before all goes black, a horrible, earth shattering roar rings through the air.