Spirals || Mattheo Riddle

Chapter 25 ~ The beginning of the end

I wiped the tears from my face as I walked to the room of requirements.

It was pathetic really, crying over something I couldn't control.

I was still red from embarrassment of having to tell that to Mattheo. It was the first time I had seen pity on the boys face.

I reminded myself it was something I couldn't change and that it wasn't my fault.

The details of my birth were shared with me from a young age, more by my mother than father.

She used to tell me it was a miracle that I was here. She used to call me her little miracle.

What she couldn't seem to understand in that self absorbed brain of hers was that she was the reason I nearly died in the first place.

The drugs she had taken whilst pregnant caused the accident, she knew that. It wasn't even a case of not knowing she was pregnant.

She knew, but she didn't care.

I pushed the thoughts from my mind as the double doors opened, letting me into the room of junk.

Draco stood in front of the cabinet, as he usually did.

I pulled the food from my robes and offered it to him without saying anything.

"Thanks," he said gratefully.

"Any progress?" I asked while stealing one of the muffins I had brought for him.

He just shrugged, telling me he had not. It wasn't surprising. While Draco Malfoy was intelligent, one of the most I had ever met, this seemed to baffle him.

A new thought popped into my head as I nibbled on the food. Maybe he didn't want to fix it. Even to a subconscious level, it was likely that his lack of progress came from the guilt he felt with the burden of this task.

It was true that the young boy was also rejecting the dark mark, having red skin around the dark ink.

In the corner sat a bird inside a cage, one of the many Draco had kidnapped over the month.

I had refused to let him test this one until we were more sure that it would actually work.

I pulled out my wand, pointing it at the cabinet and muttering a incantation I had found in one of my many books. 

The wooden box shook lightly with my magic and the scent of powerful spells lingered in the air for a moment after I had finished speaking. 

"Its never done that before?" Draco said, turning to me with wide eyes. 

I shrugged and placed my hand on the cabinet, feeling power flow through the wood where it had not before.

"Should we test it?" He asked.

Words didn't seem to want to form so I simply nodded, gesturing to the bird cage.

Draco reached inside and pulled out the small grey animal. It let out angry high pitched chirps in protest, even pecking at his fingers. He opened the door to the magical item and placed the bird inside, closing the door quickly to keep it from escaping.

"Nows the moment of truth," I said lightly, trying to make a small joke out of a very delicate situation.

Draco gave me an exasperated look and tapped his wand against the door. It made a small vibrating noise and he opened it again. The bird was gone, a good first sign.

He closed it and tapped his wand once more.

We both froze as we heard the sound of chirping and light banging coming from inside.