Daniella

I entered my room to get ready for my classes but instead my attention was drawn to a piece of parchment laying on my bed. As I read who the letter was from, my heart sank and I felt as though I couldn't breathe. I didn't know why my Mother's brother was writing to me, but as much as I was afraid to open the letter I had to find out.

To Daniella,

As of the time you will get this owl I insist you come to my home at once. My house has been burnt from a fire and as your legal guardian it is your house too. You will rebuild the parts of my home that have been ruined until it is fixed or you will not be returning to Hogwarts.

From, Sean

I immediately broke down in fear, he was the sibling to my mother. The mother who constantly abused me. He was the same person who, when my Dad was gone or even when he was home, would come over and hit me harder than my mother ever could when she felt what I had done was bad enough to deserve two beatings. It was like they were a duo. A horrible twisted duo, but a duo nevertheless.

I pulled myself together knowing that I couldn't even tell Ginny or Pansy about the letter and the fear I all of a sudden had for my life. I made my way to Dumbledore's office, shaking. I walked in and as he already knew about the letter he let me use the Floo Network that was connected to the castle.

- - - - - -

When I arrived at my uncle's house I immediately felt on edge. I could hear his loud footsteps coming down the stairs to 'greet' me. And that's when the tremors started again. It all came back. Everything I had ever tried so hard to heal from was back. The mental wounds from my Mother and Uncle. They were all there. The constant sense of fear, the constant flinching, the tremors. Absolutely everything. All I wanted right then was to be in Draco's arms. I wanted to feel the warmth of his body, the safety and love I felt around him, I wanted it all back.

"Get to the kitchen and make breakfast!" He shouted to me.

"I already had breakfast sir." I said timidly, not looking into his eyes.

"Not for you, for me!" He said while shoving me into the dining room that led to the kitchen.

- - - - - - - -

I flinched against the hard hit across my face. "You burnt them! How dare you waste my food!"

I said nothing but looked at the ground, trying my hardest to hold back my tears. After he stopped hitting and screaming at me, I headed upstairs to the burnt room he told me I would be sleeping in. I could already feel the bruises forming on my face. I put a blanket on the burnt ground in the corner of the room and began to silently cry. Once it became dark I got up and walked to my door to go outside and watch the stars like Draco and I used to do. But instead I was greeted with the horror of a locked door.

I began screaming "LET ME OUT!" I sobbed, "YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN HERE UNLOCK THE DOO-" And before I could finish my sentence I gasped in horror of my uncle barging in.

"YOU ABSOLUTE BRAT! YOU ARE BLOODY LUCKY I LET YOU STAY HERE! YOU ARE LUCKY TO BE HERE EVEN AFTER BEING AT FAULT FOR MY SISTERS DEATH!"

And just like that he picked a hard, burnt piece of wood and hit it across my face. My ears began ringing and my vision went fuzzy. I couldn't breathe. I began to whisper Draco's name with tears streaming down my face with the last bit of breath I could manage to breathe in before I let myself fall into the darkness I was so familiar with.

- - - - - - - 

Almost a month passed and the punishments were getting much worse. I would silently cry myself to sleep every night. I hadn't had more than three small meals. I was extremely underweight and malnourished. The only thing that would ever be given to me was the burnt eggs that my uncle didn't want that were warmed up from the microwave. I could have vomited at the horrible taste of the eggs. I knew though if I didn't eat everything that was on my plate I would be punished.

I headed outside in the rain, getting ready to attempt to rebuild the burnt areas of my Uncle's house.

Hours passed by and I barely got a quarter of the wall done. The wet, muddy grass was staining my shoes from being outside for so long. Next thing I knew the front door flew open with a loud bang and I flinched at the sight of him. My uncle walked toward the wall and examined it carefully before he turned around and began screaming at me.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOT TO MESS UP! YOU FILTHY ANIMAL, CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT?"

- - - - - - -

I whimpered pathetically as he took another strike at my pale skin. 'All of this just for a loose nail?' I thought. He slammed his fist again into my face, my breathing was short and rapid. It hurt to inhale. Each time I tried to breathe in, a sharp pain would stab at my chest. It was like someone was stabbing me a thousand times in my lungs, puncturing them like a water balloon.

I closed my eyes as tightly as I could and crawled against the outside of the house as I waited for the next blow to come. I was too scared to look and see when the next hit would come. It felt like if I watched it would only hurt more.

When enough time passed by and nothing happened, I carefully opened my eyes. I immediately regretted it as I saw my uncle tightly holding a thick, glass beer bottle. The only thing I could think of to stop him was to tell him how much he taught me. "Please, Sean don't! I love you. I have learned to know my place and to never screw up again. I am so sorry!"

He said nothing but laughed with an evil grin taking up his expression. He raised his hand high in the air and quickly he brought down the bottle to my head with enormous strength. I flinched and felt the bottle shatter on me, I felt the rush of blood start to come out of the many wounds the glass created. I cried out, my head felt as if it was going to explode and everything started spinning. I couldn't see clearly, everything was spotty and rushing around me. It was obvious he was satisfied with the damage he had done as he walked away from me leaving me there, bleeding. I watched the green grass and brown mud around me turn dark red. I wanted Draco so desperately at that moment but I knew he couldn't be with me when I didn't even know where he was. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. All the tears inside me seemed to have evaporated, leaving me nothing but a hurt, emotionless human. I just wanted it to all go away. All of it gone. Forever. I wanted it all to stop... I wanted it to end.

The more I blinked the longer it took my eyes to reopen until I gave into the pain. I allowed myself to drift right back into the darkness I was so familiar with but instead this time I hoped I wouldn't wake up.