Unfading Memoires

I was doomed to a life of servitude. It mattered little whom I served, the fact that it was my purpose to be a puppet was devastation to the ego and pride so ingrained in my house. I should not say that it didn’t matter who I served because it was what saved me. I shouldn’t say that either, it was she who saved me.

*O*~*O*~*O*~*O*~*O*

They say that with time all memories will fade into blurs of color and vague impressions of emotion. I say that there are two memories that will remain most vibrant until I take my last shuddering breath.

The first time I saw her is one of the blurred memories. She was only a child then and I saw her as such. Another Gryffindor who would no doubt cause me more grief had walked into Hogwarts. When she allied herself with Potter I decided that she was obviously a poor judge of character. Then I was treated to six years of an incessant know-it-all demeanor.

The first memory, still so vivid in my mind, was when I first saw her as the woman she had become. She had faced peril that wizards far older and wiser would have fled from. She was a Gryffindor, brazen and bullheaded.

I had proven my allegiance to the side of good by doing what Albus had intended me to do. I tracked down the horcruxes and made haste in destroying them while still playing best mate to the Dark Lord. I did the work that Potter was incapable of doing. I accomplished my mission and the final battle was looming over the doorstep of all who lived in such perilous times.

I watched her fight. When she faced Bellatrix Lestrange I felt a pain gurgling in the pits of my stomach. Here was this girl, this newly made woman, without a hint of fear in her eyes and a wand hand steadier than my own.

My own wand was turned toward Lucius Malfoy and I was forced to turn my gaze away from her. The Death Eaters were confused; I had played my part so well. Malfoy looked as though it were merely an April Fools joke that I was playing on him. He visibly cringed when I showed no signs of being his comrade. Let it never be said that Lucius Malfoy was a slow thinker, he threw a curse at me that missed by inches. When I saw the blood spurt from his face and the pained look in his eyes I knew that I was not meant to linger. My sectumsempra spell had been used on the second Malfoy.

My attentions turned back to Hermione. Bellatrix lay at her feet, motionless and cold. The woman was clearly dead and Hermione was standing over the corpse in complete shock. Silent tears were streaking down her cheeks as she turned to look at me. I was compelled to go to her and comfort her. Albus was right when he said that killing was much more difficult than the innocent believed. I saw her innocence as she looked down at what she’d done. I would have never believed her capable of an Unforgivable Curse but the truth stood before me.

Before I could mutter a word of comfort she shouted and flung herself in front of me. I had not seen the sneering face of Rudolphus Lestrange only feet in front of me. A shot of green light flew toward me and I saw, as if it were just a blurred memory, the curse smash into her chest. She slumped at my feet and fell lifeless to the earth.

Without thinking I raised my wand and performed the same curse before Ruddy could even congratulate himself on gaining revenge for his wife’s death. He too fell with a dull thud.

I did not care that thirty feet away Potter was performing his duty, nor did I care that people all around me were screaming and shouting curses. I slumped to my knees and held the body of the girl that had just become a woman. I cried for the first time in ages and though tears blurred my vision, the memory will never fade.

She saved my life, a life that I had not earned. For that, I owe her eternal love.