“No, it won’t all go away, it should, but I know that the heart of life is good...” -John Mayer “Heart of Life”
As September melted into October, everyone began noticing the leaves turning shades of gold and burgundy, falling to the ground with an innocence that took a breath away. The air had the distinct, crisp smell of autumn and the school enjoyed its last warm days before winter set in by spending a lot of time outside.
That day, Amiria had just finished class with Amelia, Carly, and Ella. The four had been restless all day, awaiting the time when they would finally be free of the castle so that they could go outside and take a break. The four finally collapsed under their favorite beech tree and then lay back, closing their eyes so they could enjoy the warm fall sunshine, the last of the season.
Amiria took a deep breath and let her mind wander over the past month. She and Tom had been getting along very well. Although he still had bouts of darkness wash over his handsome features from time to time, usually he was charming and listened to her. It actually was weird, but she felt like there were a lot of times when he would say something in response to something that she was about to say like as if he could read her mind. He was always really helpful if she had trouble with homework and she felt so comfortable with him, as if she could talk about anything and he totally understood her.
Now that she was thinking about it though, he had never really shared any of his deep secrets with her. They had talked about her so much but they never really talked about him at all. It was like she didn’t know him at all and yet she knew him so well.
She sighed again and slowly felt the weight of the week wash over her. Her eyelids became so heavy that she couldn’t even open them and soon, she had drifted off to sleep.
The darkness of the town around me was broken only by the single light coming in from the house on top of the hill. I wrapped my black cloak more tightly around me, throwing the hood over my head to keep out the biting cold wind that threatened to rip me to shreds. I could hear noise coming from the house as I slowly made my way up the front steps.
I pulled out my wand and said a quick spell, silencing any creak that the door might make, muffling my footsteps in the process. I was going to talk to him and see what he would say. He didn’t deserve to live, although I supposed that I could at least talk to him first.
I made my way through the downstairs like a shadow. There was no one downstairs but a dog who made to growl. I pulled out my wand and stunned him before he could announce my presence. I walked around the house and looked it over. It was large and thrust in shadows, though I could make out some comfy couches and a nice hearth, a big kitchen, and a few other rooms. I wondered how different my life would’ve been if I had been raised here, if my mother hadn’t died, if my father had actually been able to love his wife as who she really was. My jaw worked in anger at how my father had destroyed my life.
Not wasting any more time, I quietly made my way up the flight of stairs. Down the hall, at the very end, I could see a light. It was the only light in the whole house and I figured that it was probably the light that I had seen while I was walking towards the house. Swiftly, I crossed the hall in mere seconds and pushed the door open.
A man glanced up at me who looked remarkably like me only older. I cursed him. Not only had I gotten his name but I looked just like him. He definitely had to die. He was sitting in a cozy chintz armchair, enjoying the roaring warmth of the fire. I wanted the flames to just swallow him up, then I wouldn’t have to kill him. Then again, I thought. I want to kill him.
He stood up when he saw me and finally realized that there was indeed someone in the room with him now. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and I wanted to laugh out loud. How did he expect to defeat me with a knife when I had extensive knowledge of the dark arts and a wand to perform them with? “Who are you?” He asked. I could sense fear in his voice and I knew this was going to be only too easy.
“Take a guess,” I snarled.
“T-Tom?” My father stuttered.
“Unfortunately, yes,” I walked towards him and he actually had the nerve to not back down. I knew it wouldn’t take long before I had him begging for mercy. “I am the son that you abandoned when you found out that my late mother was a witch. I am the son that you could’ve raised, but instead left. I was put into a Muggle orphanage,” at that he gave me a weird look and I rolled my eyes, endeavoring to explain, “that’s what wizards call your kind. And I have your name and look just like you. You ruined my life and now I have to be alive as your son.”
“What are you doing here, Tom?” My father asked.
“Well,” I smiled. It was a slow, sinister smile. It was a smile that so lacked warmth that when I saw myself in the mirror, I even got scared. “I talked to my uncle because I really wanted to find my father.”
My father just stared at me.
“Unfortunately, I can’t stay long,” I continued, slowly pulling up my wand. “Actually, before I do, I think I’ll leave you with something special.”
“What’s that, son?” My father asked.
“Don’t call me that!” I yelled. “You are not my father. I am the heir of Salazar Slytherin. He is my father. You filthy little Muggle are not my father.”
He could only look at me in shock. I’m sure that throughout his life, he had never had anyone talk to him like that. Ironic that it should be his own son right before his death.
I raised my wand and pointed it straight at him. “Avada Kedavra.”
His scream echoed around the room and I smiled in triumph. I watched him crumple to the floor and then kicked at his dead body. The gale was really starting to pick up by now and the window burst open, letting in a blast of cold air. I barely felt it though as I left the room, laughing...
Amiria woke up with a jolt, covered in sweat.
“Amiria?” Amelia looked worried. “Are you okay? You were like shaking and moaning and stuff.”
Amiria shivered at the after-effects of the dream she had had and shook her head. “I’m- I’m fine.”
“I don’t think so,” Amelia shook her head. “I think you should go back up to the Head dorm and go take a real nap. Rest and all. I think the week’s getting to you or something.”
Amiria nodded. She wasn’t going to go take a nap, but she knew she couldn’t process what she had just dreamt in the company of Amelia, Carly, and Ella. She loved them, but she didn’t want to freak them out. She was already freaked out enough by it herself. “Yeah, I think I’m going to. I’ll see you at dinner later.”
“Yeah,” Amelia smiled at her, looking slightly worried.
As Amiria walked back up to the dorm, she felt herself going back to the dream she had had. It had looked more like a memory, because she herself hadn’t been in the dream. It was if she had been living the life of another when they went to kill their father. And it hadn’t just been anyone.. It had been Tom.
A violent wave of fear washed over her and Amiria almost collapsed right where she stood. She had just seen Tom kill his own father. Had he really hated him that much and was it as innocent as the other dreams? Had the other dreams even been that innocent?
When she arrived back up in the common room, she decided that she should take a nice, relaxing bath. Maybe some lavendar going up her nose would help clear her mind of the horrible thing she had seen in her dream.
She headed to her room to pick out some comfortable clothes and chose a pair of blue sweat pants and a blue tee shirt. Making her way to the bathroom, Amiria flicked her wand and instantly, a quiet, jazzy tune from Duke Ellington echoed around the room. Amiria sighed and entered the bathroom.
She ran the water in the huge bath tub and then turned the faucet to let in some lavendar scented bubbles. Amiria took off her robes and undergarments and then stepped into the water which was already about halfway full. She sighed as she sunk into the hot water that caressed her skin like a warm touch. Amiria loved taking really hot baths and her parents always complained about trying to get into her baths after she had taken one, it being too hot and all.
As she lay back against the marble wall of the tub, she got to thinking about her dream. It was hard to figure out what exactly had happened. Had it really been Tom in the dream? Why had he killed his father? She shivered, despite the heat of the water, at the memory of that dream. Had it been his memory or what had it been? If it had been his memory than what had the other dreams meant?
She took a deep breath and decided that now was not the time to try and analyze her dreams. Maybe she could go and talk to Dumbledore later if it got worse, but for now she didn’t think it mattered that much. Or at least it was easier to pretend that it didn’t matter that much at the moment.
After washing her hair, Amiria stepped out of the bath. All of a sudden, she heard the door open and she hastily grabbed a towel, wrapping it tightly around her, holding it to her even more tightly. She looked up to see Tom standing there with a look of shock and awe on his face.
“Amiria,” Tom looked shocked about the situation. “I’m sorry... I didn’t know you were in here.”
She gulped and nodded, a level of nervousness fell over her at the look that Tom was giving her. He was perousing her near-naked body with the eye of a discoverer who had just found an amazing treasure. She felt like she was on display and on the one hand, she liked it, but after what she had just seen, she wasn’t sure that she wanted this kind of attention from him. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted any kind of attention from him at all.
“I have to get dressed,” Amiria’s voice quavered.
“I’ll-I’ll leave,” Tom said, his voice dropping in pitch.
Amiria stood like a deer in headlights, stiffly awaiting his departure. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on which side of her mind she let win out, he didn’t move away. Instead, he got closer and closer until he was just an inch away from her.
“What are you doing?” She whispered, trying to stay rational and yet failing due to the close proximity in which they were sharing.
“Kissing you,” Tom said huskily, his face moving closer and closer to hers.
Amiria tried to protest, but as soon as her mouth opened, she found Tom’s lips on hers. He brushed them softly, sensuously, and then sucked on her bottom lip. Amiria sighed and didn’t even realize when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer. He kissed her more passionately, trying to find entrance for his tongue into her mouth. She groaned from deep within her throat and then granted him access. Their tongues intertwined and Amiria felt as though she were in heaven.
Suddenly, Tom pulled back and looked at her with an intensity she had never seen from anyone. She realized then what they had just done and blushed a deep crimson. She looked up at Tom, urging him to say something yet he just kept looking at her as if trying to look right into her soul.
After a moment, Tom just turned around and left the room. For some reason, she was hurt that he hadn’t even said anything about what had just happened. Trying to throw it off, she sat down on the toilet and put her head in her hands. What had she just done?
After what she had just seen in her dream, how could she have gotten that intimate with him? It had only been a month or so since she had known him, and yet, thinking back on what had just happened, a strong feeling of deja vu washed over her again. That seemed to happen a lot when she was with Tom. She wished that she knew what he was thinking right now.
Tom collapsed on the couch after he had escaped the bathroom. He took a huge breath and put his head in his hands. What the Hell had he been thinking? A little while ago, he had headed up to the dorm room to chill. Damon and Carl had seriously been getting on his nerves, saying that he’d been going soft and reminding him that they hadn’t had a Death Eater meeting since that last summer.
When he had gotten up to the dorm, he had heard the music that he knew Amiria must’ve put on, but hadn’t thought that behind the closed door of the bathroom, she might actually been in there. It had been a mistake, he knew, to not have at least probed her mind to see where she was, but at that moment in time, he had been slightly distracted by what his friends had told him.
He’d walked into the room and had seen her wet, naked body having just have gotten out of the bath. The water had been running over her curves and the light had made her glow as if she was some otherworldly being. He knew that it was a mistake, but he couldn’t help himself. He had wanted to kiss her since they almost had after they had danced and he wanted to kiss her even more now.
He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back on the couch, letting his head fall back. Maybe he should go back there and apologize to her. After all, what he had done had been unacceptable. He shouldn’t have allowed himself to take such liberties with his work partner. After they broke up, Tom knew that it wouldn’t be good to work with her anymore. And he had no doubt that they would break up because it always happened. People never loved him. Why would he even let himself think that she would be different?
All of his life, people had respected him, admired him, and feared him, but no one had ever loved him and no one ever would. But deep down, there was still a small seed of hope inside of his heart that maybe one day, someone could find it in their heart to love him.
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