The Tomb Of Our Forlorn Love

(Just a warning, if you don't like reading about violence then disregard this part.)

“He’s yelling again,” Ellary sighed, not even looking up from the ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’ book she had propped up on her lap.

“Go figure, he never does that,” Severus answered, sarcastically.

He was lying belly down on the floor reading the book Lily had gave him for Christmas; he had been since he had opened it up six days ago. They were both trying desperately to pass the time until the next morning when they would get to go back to Hogwarts.

“I know. I just felt the need to state the obvious,” Ellary replied, sinking down lower into her bed. But she suddenly shot back up when she heard a thunderous crash erupt from downstairs that made her heart skip a beat. “Bloody hell! What was that?” she exclaimed, springing up from her bed. She ran to the door, but tripped over her too-sizes-too-big pajama pants.

Severus leapt up too with a fearful look on his face. “He must be getting violent,” he murmured, helping Ellary up off the floor. “I’m going to help mum, she’s a nutter too, but she doesn’t deserve this,” he growled, anger shining in his dark eyes, but Ellary caught his arm before he could open the door.

“You don’t deserve it either, Severus,” she whispered, a pleading look in her eyes. “I don’t want him to hurt you.”

“I have no choice,” he responded, shaking her hand off him gently. And with that he opened the door and disappeared down the hallway.

“He’s not going through this alone,” Ellary said, determinedly, under her breath when he left.

Quickly she took off down the hallway after him. Her bare feet made next to no noise against the wooden floor. Her pace slowed down a great deal when she reached the stairs. The deafening sound of her father’s shouts made her blood run cold and sent shivers down her spine. Subconsciously her hand traveled to one of the fading bruises on her lower back as she reluctantly tiptoed down the stairs. She knew it was probably stupid of her to get in the way during one her father’s rages, but then again Gryffindors were well known for their reckless bravery.

When she entered the downstairs kitchen she bumped into Severus, who seemed to be frozen in his place. “Severus?” she whispered, but spoke no more when she caught sight of her father for the first time that entire vacation, until then she and Severus had been doing a pretty successful job of avoiding him altogether. He was a man of average height with a slim but strong build, greasy graying, reddish-brown hair, cold blue eyes, and pallid skin. The cruelty in his heart could be clearly read through the deep wrinkles, constant sneer, and scars that mutilated his once handsome face.

“I TOLD YOU TO HAVE DINNER ON THE TABLE WHEN I GOT HOME YOU STUPID BITCH!” he roared at his wife cowering in the corner. “And where the hell did all my beer go? I swear to God if those two brats have been getting into my stash I will kill ‘em both!” he threatened, sending an empty, glass beer bottle hurtling dangerously at her head.

It hit the spot just above her on the wall and shattered into a hundred pieces, piercing her flesh.

“I- I’m so sorry, Tobias. Dinner is almost ready, just five more minutes and I will get you some more beer, my love. I’ll run out to the store right now,” she mumbled, shakily hauling herself of the ground.

“You didn’t think do that before I got home?” he hissed, grabbing her arm roughly and swinging her out closer to him. “Can’t you do anything right you stupid whore?” he spat right in her face.

“I’ll fix it,” Helen whimpered, “I’ll fix everything.”

“You can’t fix this, Helen!” he screamed, slapping her head across the face so she hit the floor with a loud thud. “I hate this goddamn house! I hate my goddamn life! Those stupid freaking kids you gave me! THEY’RE EMBARASSING! You filthy witch! You filthy, unnatural witch! Why the hell did I ever marry a filthy little witch like you? You told me there world be no magic once you married me! But those goddamn, unnatural kids are going to that bloody school with their bloody, damn wands! THIS YOUR FAULT!” he kicked her brutally in the side as she lay on the floor.

Ellary cringed when she heard the distinctive sound of a bone cracking.

“I’m sorry,” she choked, tears pouring from her eyes, “I’m sorry, my love. I’ll get rid of them; I’ll send them away. I love you.”

“YOU DON’T LOVE ME! YOU NEVER LOVED ME! I bet those pair of brats aren’t even mine! YOU STUPID BITCH!” he roared, picking her up by her throat.

He slammed her into the far wall, the bang made Ellary’s heart stop beating momentarily. One last gasp escaped her mother’s lips and then her face changed… it suddenly grew white and lifeless, her eyes unmoving. Tobias let go of her neck and she sunk down on to the floor motionless, dead…

“You- you killed her,” Ellary muttered, barely above a whisper. “You killed her,” her brown eyes were as wide as saucers as she spoke.

“What the hell?” he spun around and a mixture of anger and fear came to his face when he saw his two children standing there in shock. “You two didn’t see anything!” Tobias growled, “Do you hear me? I’ll kill you too, I swear to God,” he threatened, lunging at them with his hands outstretched in front of him.

Ellary immediately pushed her brother up the stairs, “OWL DUMBLEDORE!” she demanded, before turning back to her father. She whipped her wand out of her pants pocket, “STUPEFY!” she shouted, and a jet of red light shot from her wand and into her father’s chest. He collapsed to the ground paralyzed, “INCARCEROUS!” she added, and ropes snaked around her father’s body, bounding his arms and legs tightly together so that there was no chance of him getting away.

She took a deep breath as her eyes scanned over the scene in front of her. The broken window, the shards of glass, the blood on the floor, and her mother’s dead body sprawled out across the ground. This had to be some sort of nightmare. This could not be happening. She pinched her right arm, but nothing changed. The scene did not fade away into the darkness; this was all real. Her mother was dead and her father had finally gone over the edge. Suddenly everything around her became blurry to the point where she could only make out shapes. She heard her brother’s voice calling out to her, but it sounded so far away. Then suddenly everything went black.

People were standing all around of her. Their lips were moving and their eyes were observing her with the utmost sympathy, but she could not hear a thing. She felt completely detached from the world around her at that moment, the only thing she could feel was Severus’ shaking hand intertwined tightly with her own as they sat in one of the numerous waiting rooms inside the Ministry of Magic.

“She must be in shock. How long has she been like this?” Ellary heard the faint sound of a woman’s voice somewhere near her; she glanced up to see an exceptionally tall brunette woman wearing a blue uniform talking with Severus.

“I don’t know- she put a spell on my dad and then fainted after it happened, she hasn’t spoken since,” he answered, his voice low and unsteady, so the lady had to lean in closely to hear him correctly.

“I’m fine,” Ellary croaked, it was the first time she had spoken in nearly three hours, so her voice was strained.

Severus and the woman jumped at the sound of her voice, “Oh good dear, I have to ask you a few questions. I’m from the Correctional Division; we received a report that you used unauthorized magic outside of school-”

“Yes, I felt it necessary to use when my father killed my mother and then decided to come after me,” Ellary sneered.

How could they be questioning her about this? Was she honestly going to get in trouble for saving her own life?

A look of shame came to the woman’s face, “I’m sorry dear, but I have been ordered by the Board of-”

“That will be enough Miss Calloway, this case will be thrown out. The student had probable cause to use magic outside of school, now please leave and let me talk to them,” Albus Dumbledore suddenly appeared.

His voice was calm yet somehow fierce as he spoke to the women, so fierce that she immediately obeyed his order and disappeared down the hallway. Though he was an elderly man with a long silver-white beard, twinkling blue eyes, and half-moon spectacles, he did have a very commanding aura about him that made you immediately respect him. Ellary had always been rather fond of him, though he always particularly liked to challenge her when he was her Transfiguration teacher. Instead of giving her an O like every other teacher, he gave her A’s to make her work harder to achieve excellence. He was no longer a teacher anymore though; he had become the Headmaster of Hogwarts the year before when Dippet had finally retired.

“Ellary, Severus,” he nodded to them both, before kneeling down so he was eye-level with the both of them. “Your father has been taken away to a muggle prison and your mother’s body was taken away by the muggle authorities as well,” he explained to them, “There is still another eight days left of your vacation, but I will be happy to take you back to Hogwarts myself if that is where you would like to go. However, I have been in contact with the Potter family and they say you are both more than welcome to stay at their house. The decision is entirely up to you,” he said.

Both Ellary and Severus nodded in understanding. It was amazing how he spoke so candidly with them, unlike everyone else who treated them like they were two scared little children who couldn’t possibly think for themselves.

“I want to go to the Potters,” Ellary whispered, the last thing she wanted was to be around all the students that stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays.

She just wasn’t ready for a bombardment of questions; at least at the Potters she would be able to get some privacy to sort out her thoughts for a night.

“I- I do too,” Severus mumbled, making both Dumbledore and Ellary look toward him in surprise. “Lucius Malfoy stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays,” he whispered in Ellary’s ear, and she nodded.

Lucius would torture him if he went back to Hogwarts now, while the teachers weren’t on their usual close watch of the pupils.

“Good then. I personally gathered your things for you; I will send word for them to be sent directly to the Potter residence. There is a fireplace just down the hallway you can use for transportation when you are ready. If you need more time, I will completely understand. You have been through quite the ordeal tonight,” he said softly, “If you need to talk to someone-”

“Thank you Professor, but I don’t think either of us are in the talking mood at the moment,” Ellary cut him and Severus nodded in agreement. “I want to go to the Potters now, I don’t like this place,” she whispered, glancing uneasily around at the dozens of people staring at her.

“I’ll lead you to the fireplace, then” Dumbledore said, standing back up to his full height.

Unsteadily Ellary heaved herself off the chair, with the help of Severus who for some reason seemed to be doing a lot better than she was after the incident. Dumbledore then turned and led them slowly down the hall.

“We’re going to be okay, Ellary,” Severus whispered, as he wrapped his arm around her waist in support, “At least we never have to see that man again, ever,” Severus said through clenched teeth.

“But mum,” Ellary whimpered, in response.

“Never cared about us anyways,” Severus interrupted, fire in his eyes. “Did you hear what she said before she died? I’ll send them away! I’ll send them away for you!” Severus recalled, “She never loved us. Neither of them did.”

“Don’t say that, Severus,” Ellary whispered, his words cutting through her heart like a knife.

“Neither of them ever loved us Ellary and you know it,” he said harshly, “We’ve been alone since the day we were born. Muggles are filth, our father was filth. No one ever loved me,” he mumbled, as they walked.

“I love you Severus,” she whispered, and he turned to look at her in what looked like surprise. “You know that, right?”

He was silent for a moment, “Yeah, Ella, I do. I love you too,” he whispered, “We never needed them.”

The steaming hot water washed over Ellary’s body, seeming to wash away all the pain with it. Tears poured uncontrollably from her eyes as she let the hot droplets pierce her skin. The water had almost becoming scalding by that point, but Ellary didn’t care, she wanted to get rid of all the impurities on and within her. When she stepped out of the small shower and into the steam-filled bathroom it felt as if the weight of the world had been taken of her chest, but still she didn’t feel completely right.

There was a sharp, nagging feeling in her stomach that made her feel as if she was about to throw up if she moved too quickly. She had been at the Potters’ house for about an hour, but she hadn’t spoken to any of them yet. Instead she had instantly locked herself in the shower to get away from it all, she was definitely not ready to talk about everything she had seen. Flashes of the murder kept coming to her mind every time she closed her eyes.

Her mother’s body on the floor, her father’s face as he lunged at her… Her mother’s last scream kept ringing through her ears, “Just stop! STOP IT!” she screamed, trying desperately to drown out the maddening sound.

The steam from the mirror began to evaporate and Ellary could see her own reflection.

When she looked in the mirror she saw her mother’s dark brown eyes and her father’s delicate face staring back at her, “I HATE YOU!” she screamed at her own reflection, “I HATE YOU! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO THIS TO ME?”

Suddenly there came a persistent knocking on the door, “Ellary! Ellary, are you okay?” someone yelled from the other side of the door. “Ellary, it’s Sirius! Please let me in!” he begged, “Just don’t hurt yourself!”

“Sirius?” Ellary whispered, inching slowly toward the door. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“James owled me when he heard what happened, I flooed here as quick as I could. Can I please come in? I need to see you, I need to know that you are okay,” he pleaded with her.

She turned away from the door and slipped on some clean pajamas she had borrowed from James. They consisted of an extra large Chudley Cannons t-shirt and a pair of drawstring, green flannel pants that she had to roll up a few times so she could actually walk in them without tripping over herself. After changing, she gradually undid the lock on the door and not a second later Sirius burst inside. His face was contorted with true concern and his hair was terribly disheveled, as if he had just gotten out of bed. Judging by the hour of the night, he probably had.

“How are you, Ellie? James- he told me everything,” he explained softly, making a move to hug her, but Ellary quickly evaded his arms.

“I’m fine,” she lied, a callous tone to her voice. “They never loved me anyways, why should I care if they’re gone?” She brushed roughly past him and into the guest bedroom where she was staying.

“I’m sure that they loved you, of course they loved you. Your father- I’m sure he just made a terrible, terrible mistake,” Sirius responded.

He didn’t know how abusive her father really was. He didn’t know about everything Ellary had been through since she was a little girl.

“Hah! A mistake, that’s a funny one,” Ellary said bitterly, “You don’t know anything, Sirius,” she sighed.

“Ella, you can trust me,” Sirius whispered, gently placing his hands on her arms, but again she avoided his touch. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, quietly. “I know it might be hard to believe, but I’m actually a great listener,” he told her, “I’m here for you.”

“No,” she responded, “That is the last thing I want to do.”

“What do you want Ellie? I’ll do anything you want,” he said, sincerity shining in his stone gray eyes.

“I just want to sleep,” she whispered, “Just sleep, sleep and forget.”

“Then we’ll sleep,” he concluded, lifting up the covers of the bed and placing them gently over Ellary. He climbed into the other side of the bed and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Just let me be with you,” he whispered, as the warmth of his body and his smell soothed her, so that all the muscles in her body finally loosened and relaxed.

She sunk into the softness of the bed and placed her hand on top of Sirius’, before flipping over to face him. She buried his head into his chest and the tears she had been holding in began to pour from her eyes; she cried and cried until there was nothing left inside of her. Sirius did not say a word, even when the cries ceased and Ellary finally drifted off to sleep. Though she had said earlier she wanted to be alone, in reality, it was the last thing in the world that she wanted and thankfully Sirius had known that…