This chapter contains violent actions, please read with caution.

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" My daughter, we meet at last."

Horror, death, fright,

Was all my mind could process as his tongue tore through my ears - the bearing around him was horrendous, vile, but still in an unusual form, soothing and familiar,

I didn't strive to open my centers thoroughly - I refuse to because it would signify that he was able to see the startling squint in my eyes, and I could never provide him the pleasure of fearing him,

Ever.

I felt his presence hovering around me - cramming me up and down, examining every detail embedded into my skin, each strand of hazel-brown locks resting on my shoulders. Then I held his touch, his ice-cold claw hunting over my cheek - the longspun nail scored into my tender skin.

The touch was biting, raw but yet sympathetic, warm - as if he could feel my every emotion through it,

" Look at me," His voice orders; his tone stayed observant, sharp but not ominous. " Open your eyes."

No,

No,

I can't,

I don't want to,

But I do - I have to, cautious of what he pleasures do to me if I don't comply,

I clock my sights broad open at his command as my heart halted, my veins turned in ice - facing the deemed eyes in front of me - he stared straight into my soul, his eyes saturated with hatred, merely as if he never felt love, in some way, it was similar to viewing a reflection, his eyes in mine -

The room around us had turned dull; his horrifying embrace coated the walls with malice, " Finally," he shouts as I signed my gaze to linger over his front. - his coat was colorless, nearly dusty as purple veins caressed his outside. I could sense his pants upon my skin, stabbing my pure act - searing cold, precisely similar to his touch.

" Speak," He charges, requiring to hear my voice - although not a single word equipped to fly my trembling rims - " I said, speak." He roars,

But I can't,

Not a single word could escape my lips,

I was too scared,

To horrified by his looks,

By his act,

I hear Lucius's strides, marching closer, " Leiah, please." He begged at my silence, troubled about what my father's command do if I don't serve him.

" No," I huff out, catching the flutter I've been sustaining in for moments, " I won't do anything you ask of me until you take me to my mother,"

My fathers cover tensed at my terms - I could heed how much he loathed my disobedience; he caught one pace back, his cloak hauled behind him as he poured around - clutching a chair in a solid grip, inhaling sharply through his jaws, " You will do what I ask of you." He speaks, " When I ask it, do you understand?"

" No, not until you lead me to my mother," I declare, my voice bursting in the thought of my mother, and he revolves around, his optics reamed into mine as his hand grips around his wand - I cleared his patience, " Take her downstairs, Lucius," He says, steering towards the entries, my eyes wavered to the blond-haired man as he attains astonished - the confident manner he possessed a few moments ago - faded,

'' My lord-,'' Lucius pleads, seizing his cane in uncertainties, but the murderous stare my father is granting him with is enough for Lucius to back down - stiffly nodding towards my violent father,

'' Yes, my lord.'' Lucius swallows before snatching me by my arm, drawing me out of the dining hall; his hold around my arm tenses as he yanks me closer,

'' Behave, Leiah.'' He grumbled into my hair as he dragged me athwart the corridor, below the stairs to the cellar,

'' You have no thought of what he's capable of,''

He shoved me away from him in the abandoned basement, producing me to flounder back on the rock-covered ground. My breaths chained by the sudden shift of environment - I haven't stayed down here in ages; it was hidden, drenched, and hardly a window insight - I loathed being down here, my mother frequently defined me from placing a foot below the stairwell,

I peered throughout the cellar in confusion, owning no trace of why we're down here - my eyes flicker back to Lucius, his eyes pleaded for mine, furnishing me a vicious look - almost as if he starved for my mercy as we heard steps wandering down the stairs, - I caught several steps back as my father makes his way down to us,

'' I don't tolerate being forced by a naive, little witch as yourself,'' My father speaks, using a last step of the stairs,

'' My daughter or not, this will teach you not to defy me,''

And by those words dropping off his edges, he studies me with brutal, inhuman eyes, '' Hold your breath, my dear,'' He laughs, unveiling his crooked teeth in a wicked smile - raising his wand in my path and before I knew the word of it, a green string cuts through my entire body - the feeling if a thousand daggers stabbing my soft skin entirely at once - the cutting sensing shredders within every vessel, every nerve,

My outcry felt senseless - I couldn't hear it - I held my lips, parting in struggles to squeal, to shout, to illustrate the torture shredding through me, but not a pitch willed them.

I sought to think about my mother, the way she always greets me when I step through the doors, how mighty I embrace her every time we've been apart - striving to visualize how it felt to have Luna's encouraging arms coiled around me, or how her stupid remarks cause me to laugh so much that tears escape my centers, but nothing - I can't feel anything except the agony my father is inserting me through -

I sought to imagine how it felt when Draco's lips strained onto mine, how the passion rushed through my variety when his lips caressed mine - how I blush every time he assures me he despises me, knowing that he means the definite opposite, - At this moment I would do anything to block the pain out,

It hurts,

It hurts more than I ever imagined that anything could hurt,

I heaved for oxygen, but I couldn't feel my breaths anymore - a massive feeling ambushed my chest as my hands darted to grasp my throat, my nails boring into the delicate skin to feel something, to breathe - the stinging sensation clamped around my heart. Even if I did everything possible not to, it spurred me to drop to my knees.

The ground scraped against my surface - my already bruised palms clasped every rock on the basis, seeking to taste something different than the pain, attempting to find my strength - I was trapped inside myself, paralyzed by my fathers spell - holding no possibility to escape his evil act,

He hated me,

My father hated me,

Maybe it was because I looked like my mother,

I talked like my mother,

I reminded him too much of my mother,

So he had to punish me for it,

After moments of unbearable cruelty, he finally split his wand away, causing me to obtain my missing breath as I collapsed utterly to the ground,

'' Stupid girl,'' My father seethed at me, awarding me the most despicable of looks, before looping around, stomping up the stairs again - I laid motionless in the icy vault, pulling my knees up to my chest, hugging myself - not aspiring to do anything else to upset him, not wanting to be tortured once more - my entire body was quivering, my lips shivering as the tears drowned down my flushed cheeks, it hurts - everything hurts,

I hate it,

I hate him,

I hate everything that has something to do with him,

But most of all,

I hated myself,

I hated myself for revealing weakness - but nothing else was possible at this moment - the endeavor of my fathers dark magic caused me to whimper, regret showering over me as I work to conceive my breaths,

'' You need to stand up, right now - he won't hesitate to return.'' Lucius rustles as he takes immediate steps to my vulnerable figure, bowing down beside me, '' Stand up.'' He threatens me, alarmed that my father wishes to punish me again,

And I do; I urge my palms toward the ground, faltering up on my feet again, feeling his cold hand holding me for support - doing everything in my ability not to look at Lucius, sealing my eyes closed,

The stinging sensation grows in my chest when I hear my father's tracks above us again, '' What did he do?'' I blow, doubling in a struggle to relieve the pain, '' Why does it hurt?'' I whine before my mind fastens back to presence,

I've read about this, the green chain of light shattering through the body in an attempt to divide a soul in half; my eyes immediately snapped up to Lucius as I stand level, '' Tell me he didn't.'' I utter, grasping at my chest with my aching hands, '' Tell me he didn't manage to split my soul in two-,''

'' No.'' Lucius grouses - that's why my father marched away, he wasn't competent off splitting my soul in two, '' He's not worthy to break your soul - yet.'' His hand brushing against his keen nose - twisting his face, '' But believe me, Miss Riddle. He will be back, and he will try again.'' He tows his collar nervously, scrutinizing down at my shaking figure,

'' How? How could he-,''

'' Your soul is too pure, Leiah. Your mind is inexperienced-,'' He begins, before holding his breath - gloom is rending through his devilish grey eyes, '' The dark lord will execute this sort of magic on Draco as well.''

No,

No,

This can't be happening,

This can't be true,

Not Draco,

His words send me into a state of panic - even if I was heartbroken by Draco's deeds, he didn't deserve this torture, the unbearable strain I went through - I wouldn't wish that ache on my worst enemy, and particularly not Draco.

My heart ached by the thought of his eyes matching mine, the way my undivided self lacked his touch at this moment,

I missed him,

So much at this moment,

His skin on mine,

I hated him,

But I missed him even more,

'' No, he can't handle it.'' I speak, taking a step back from him, '' He's not strong enough - we have to do something-,''

I have to do something,

'' Don't you think I know that?'' He explodes at my frightened front, launching his arms out in the air, shaking his head at me, '' I am well aware of how my son would react to this'' His words causes me to swallow, clearing my throat,

'' Of course," I argue back, '' I don't want Draco to get hurt any more than you do,'' I possess my sentence, remarking the pain in his eyes - he loves his son, he would never confess to it, and would never speak it out loud, but he does love his son.

'' Is there anything-,'' I urge, but he learned my mind long before I had the chance to settle my sentence; he turned from me, exercising heavy steps towards the stairs,

'' No. The dark lord has decided this,'' He sighs, '' We don't know when, but it will be soon enough.'' - hesitating in the doorway, as he peers over his shoulder to look at me,

I can't let this happen,

He's not ready,

" I will come to collect you when you're needed,"

I solely nod as an answer, tasting my whole purpose being clouded by what we just conversed.

There has to be something we can do - something I can do to prevent this. In the last letter, Narcissa penned that she had concerns about her son and the truth that my father craved him to shift a death eater - and I shared that anxiety with her,

I can't lose him,

I need him,

Draco wasn't fit for this, even if he acted ominously - it was all an act, he's too pure for this, his soul is too emotional to go through this.

I always deemed him to be cruel and heartless, and he is - he truly is - but still caring for the people dearest to him, he's protective in the most heeding way - he's passionate though his touch - he's always malicious through his words - his touch never lies.

Not to me,

His touch never lied to me,

The way he touches me - the way his skin felt mine caused my whole presence to melt in a heartbeat,

Fuck,

Why do I keep putting myself through this -

I can't feel this way about Draco,

But I can't resist him either,

I need him.

I slid down against one of the pillars, permitting a huff as I'm sensing my bruised chest with my trembling fingers - it still hurts - I'm not quite sure of what hurts, if it is the longing for the blond-haired boy - the solicitude for my mother or the pain of the crucifixion,

"Leiah." A hoarse voice yells from overhead, breaking through my clouded mind - I force myself off the floor, taking keen trails towards the stairs as I sense a peal of relief washing over me - I train up the dimmed stairs, finding my way over the darkened castle - taking a distant breath, terrified to confront my father again,

But I didn't - that's what produced the feeling of relief earlier - he's gone, everything sparked the instant he retreated our castle, the vague hovering embrace my father brought vanished as he left.

My mind went orderly to my mother; my eyes wavered over the room, reaming into Lucius's firm figure, bending with both hands planted over the dining room table, " My mother?" I falter, seeking to stand tall, to encourage myself, but it's difficult when I keep hearing is her outcries, soring through my vessels,

" She's not here. She never was," Lucius speaks - lifting a brow, " You need to stop being easily deceived, Leiah." He twists around to seize my wand out of his pocket, setting it on the table,

She wasn't here,

Of course, she wasn't.

And as soon as he does - I clutch it in my fist - spinning around in my steps as I ran.

I ran as fast as I possibly could, away from my home. I caught Lucius call out for me as I continued, but I didn't bother because my mother wasn't here -

She was safe,

I leap out of the castle, into the woods encircling it, plunging around between all the different trees and greenery, trying to find some peace of mind, but all thoughts imaginable is hastening through my head,

I wasn't surprised that my father and Lucius used my mother to get their way - they played me to get what they coveted, to use me as a pawn in their wicked way to split my soul in two - anger building up within me as I think about it, my father did this to me; he harmed me - and I didn't feel sufficient telling anyone about this,

I realize why my mother disappeared now, why she took everything and left because he owned no limits, he was the devil in human shape -

He was the devil himself,

All I can wish for while walking through the woods - feeling branches scratching my bare legs - is to be with the one spirit that could earn me peace at this time,

_____

I flounder over the courtyard as the eclipse diminished over Hogwarts - the sun departed hours ago, and as soon as it did, everything shifted cold - that October, biting air prickled into my cheeks as I caught faint footsteps,

" Oh, my-, Leiah," Luna calls for me, across the yard, the breezes hauling into every piece of my clothing as she rushes closer - her blond, nearly white curls are whirling free in the blow around her,

She's beautiful,

The warmth caressing her,

The safety surrounding her,

Her highlights dropped the moment she placed her sights on me, scanning the dried tears painting my pale cheeks - my hair tangled from tugging at it in hopelessness - my clothes disordered -

"Leiah," She pants out again before wrapping her arms around me, and once I welcomed her embrace, the warmth of being near her - I sank to my knees, repeated sobs shook my lips. I buried my head in the curve of her neck - allowing her to hold me,

This is where I strived to be,

With her,

She repeatedly asked me what happened - where I've been - but I couldn't answer her - all I let out was my plaints, my aching sobs and she turned quiet - she didn't urge anything else - she didn't force me to explain what had passed when I was missing,

She merely hugged me as I suffered all of my emotions, stroking my back - tucking my hair behind my ear in the ice-cold nightfall. I felt the bricks burning into my uncovered knees,

She propped me up - encircled her arm under mine to help me walk indoors. She granted me the most humble glimpses as I tended against her shoulder, finding our way to the Ravenclaw tower. My eyes fluttered over all the students around us, providing us with skeptical stares - I felt insecure, ashamed, and small due to what happened with my father; even if I knew that no one else kens about this, it still bothers me - knowing that I'm marked.

Marked by him,

The man I despised more than anything,

And just as we stepped around a corner, a cold hand coiled mine, yanking me back - I could recognize his touch without seeing him.

He's here,

He found me,

The boy my whole existence craved for,

" What the fuck-," He rises, but immediately locked speechless when he saw the shape I was in - the swollen red eyes from crying, the cuts on my neck I caused when trying to survive the spell my father cast - his eyes softened as they found their way down my thighs, seeing the scratches on my legs,

" Leave her alone, Malfoy." Luna shouts in his profile, but he doesn't blench; he merely keeps his eyes bolted in mine as his grasp of my wrist slackens " Leave Draco. She has been through enough; we don't need you to-,"

" Why did you leave?" He roars, possessing no control over his emotions, '' You fucking promised that you wouldn't leave,'' He stretched, neglecting Luna's attempts to speak; her impatience with him became evident as she turned around to face me again, her eyes begging mine to leave,

But I can't,

I can't leave him,

I just got him back,

I glanced up at him as I swallowed thickly, striving to find the courage within me, " Did you know?" I question him, drawing a startled look from his offensive form - sensing my eyes water by the thought of the pain my father put me through, " Did you know what he planned to do with me?"

I had to know,

I had to know the truth,

I needed to.

His sights increased at my terms, guilt growing all over him before he shreds his centers away, jaws clenched,

No,

No,

He couldn't,

" Did you know he tortured me?" I utter again, holding the tears gushing down my cheeks, " Did you know he tried to rip my soul in two?"

" Enough," He shouts, forcing me back from Luna, " That's fucking enough." He quotes himself, his nostrils visibly flaring as heated, minty breaths escape them through sharp pants,

I gawk into his eyes for a fleeting moment, seeking to learn if he truly knew what my father had in mind,

"Leiah," Luna puffs again, and my neck quickly locked to her - forgetting that she stood there to listen to what I spoke about my father, and then something happened that I haven't viewed in ages - her eyes rose to pool - small paths of clear, precise drops ruched down her slightly flushed skin,

" What did he do?" She murmurs, trying to hide the breaking voice fleeing her quivering edges.

I wrapped my arms around her, squeezing her delicate shape close to mine, " I'm sorry - I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you - I should've," She whines amidst her tears, " I should've been there for you,"

No,

I'm sorry,

I'm so fucking sorry for always putting you through this,

For always messing up,

Leaving myself for you to clean up,

I'm the sorry one,

I signed my hand's stroke over her white hair; my fingers untangled her ends, " It's not your fault," I whisper into her head, hugging her even closer, " It's mine - I shouldn't have left,"

" I'm so sorry,"

And just as I thought to leave Draco behind, taking Luna back to her room - Hermione hurried up to us, she witnessed the look on her sweethearts front. Hermione didn't pronounce a word; her eyes simply shot between Luna's and mine, startled by what she just heeded,

" Take her to her room. I'll be there shortly," I speak - Hermione agrees and does as I tell, leaving me and the blonde one alone in the corridor. I meet his eyes again - they haven't left mine in minutes; his eyes always sought to find my blue ones,

His eyes,

They could either raise you to the skies,

Or bring you down to hell,

" Did you know?" I ask, using a step back from the boy before me - and he lets his gaze travel all over my figure, scrutinizing the tears on my skirt - the way my father's nail willed a red, bleeding mark on my skin and then, he sees my palms, how I once again forced my nails into the skin,

''Leiah,''

''No,'' I speak, my eyes narrowed in his,

'' Answer me. Did you know?''

'' Do you truly believe that I would let you go if I did?'' He finally reveals, his eyes bolting through mine, as his whole self drained - me leaving him, even when I promised him not to, took a toll on him. He looked bewildered, tiered, but still relieved that I'm home,

With him,

And there's no way he'll ever let me go again,

We stand there, an inch from each other, in complete silence.

I know that Draco needs to ask me about what happened - what my father did - how I was feeling - if I was hurt -

But he didn't - he didn't prize how-to, and I don't blame him for that - I can't hold that against him,

He wasn't raised the way I was; he never learned how to express his feelings - if he had any,

I think he does - I think he has plenty of feelings trapped inside his pale crest - that needs to get out before he explodes,

I have to tell him,

What his father told me,

'' I hate you for what you did.'' I admit, seeing his darkened brows groove at my words, '' I know what you did.''

He looks at me for a fleeting moment, trying to figure out what he'd been lying about this time until he grasped it,

His sights fell to the ground in humiliation; he didn't dare to look at me when I exposed him for his actions earlier this year,

'' It was different then,'' He mumbles, shrugging his shoulders before he peers back at me, '' We didn't-, I didn't-,''

My silence speaks for itself - I'm tired of him being dishonest - I'm tired of him hiding truths for me,

" You always do this - you always put meaning in my words," He shouts out of the blue, frustrated with me, " You always fucking do this."

He's UNBELIEVABLE,

I look at him as anger boiling through my veins, " What, Draco? What is it this time?" I shout back, feeling my temper failing me, " How is this my fucking fault?"

" You lied to me - You used me - and for what? To please my father? To please yours?''

With those words leaving my lips, he shoves me against the wall, thrusting his tensed frame against mine, " Shut the fuck up, right now."

His breaths became uneven in difficulty, the veins rising to caress his neck, '' Don't you dare put words in my mouth.''

" No,"

"No?"

I look at him with burning eyes, his lips close to mine, the tension throbbing around us, " No - I won't shut up - because you are the one who always does this.''

He rose a brow as he looked at me; his blue sights darted between my eyes and lips - his teeth gritted,

'' Fuck,'' He groans, changing around to strike his fist into the wall behind me - still trapped between his arms,

'' Fuck, Fuck, Fuck.'' He shouts, as his knuckles repeatedly collide with the wall, paths of blood stained his black suit jacket,

'' Draco, stop.'' I whimper, sensing the pool in my eyes to water up once more as I take a step towards him, stirring his shoulders back, '' Please, please stop.'' I beg, and he complies,

He shifts in his actions, peering at me with despairing eyes,

'' I'm fucking sorry - I never meant-,''

'' I don't want to hear it,'' I look up at him with honest eyes, not owning the strength to go through this again, '' I'm sorry, but I can't do this-,''

'' Please,'' The blonde boy pleaded, spreading his bruised knuckles over his hair, his hand traveling down to grip his chin, '' Fuck,'' He curses again, looking around us before he bends down to my level, closing the longing space between us,

''Please, meet me in the morning,'' He breaths close to my lips, minty pants fanning my skin, '' Your study spot, by the tree.'' I glance at him with hesitation written all over my features,

'' Please,''

" I have to tell you something,"

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