Ava sat on her ratty old mattress, bored out of her mind, bouncing an old tennis ball off of the wall opposite of her. The Dursley's were all out for the day and instead of locking her outside the house like they usually did when they're gone, they left her locked in her tiny room with no way out. The sad thing is that she couldn't decide if they did it on purpose, or if they actually forgot she was up there.

She really needed the toilet.

And a snack.

Her relatives had left her locked in her room for most of the last week she had been back. She was convinced they were trying to forget she existed. The whole, if you can't see it, it's not real thing. They didn't even make her do a huge list of her usual "chores" either. In fact, the only interaction she had with them so far was her uncle taking his belt to her when she woke them up by having a nightmare that left her screaming. She still has the welts and lash marks even days later.

She didn't mind the solitude really. It was a nice change. The only down side was that she got even less food than usual. She could already see her ribs again. That didn't usually happen until at least the 3rd week back.

Continuing to toss the ball and having it bounce back to catch it she started humming a random song that had been stuck in her head all day. She didn't know where the song came from. She was sure she had never heard it before. But it kept the boredom at bay so she didn't mind. It also kept her mind off of her recent blunder. This one ended with her godfather's death. She couldn't even blame the enemy for it either. It was her fault. Hers and her headmasters. Albus tomanynames Dumbledore who would rather keep her in the dark than let her know anything important.

After a few more hours, and silently wondering if the Dursley's decided to jump ship and never come back, Ava was laying on her back, staring at the ceiling. She was using the sting from the welts and torn skin to try to ignore the feeling of her bladder about to burst.

Just as she was contemplating banging her head against the wall, a feeling of annoyance drifted through her. A feeling that wasn't her own.

She sat up with a curious look, wondering what had the snake-man so annoyed that it crossed the link. Her occlumency was much better than before, having nothing better to do after the ministry debacle than practice, so he must be really really annoyed for it to cross over. Either that, or She was so bored that she subconsciously dropped her barriers looking for some entertainment.

With nothing else to do, and no one there to stop her, she did something so Gryffindorish, so stupid, that she actually questioned her own sanity. She mentally prodded the link for the first time. She dropped her occulmency just enough to let current thought and feeling through and sent a feeling of complete boredom over. Or at least hoped she did. She wasn't sure how this thing worked after all. The feeling of surprise and slight wariness she got in return was encouraging.

She sent more boredom and a bit of curiosity, feeling a bit giddy, though not sure why exactly. Maybe she really was an adrenaline junky like some of her friends accused her of being. Apparently danger really did excite her.

She smiled widely at the mental prod she felt. For some reason this prod made her think of Voldemort poking at a dangerous, unknown creature with a stick, wondering if it'll attack. The sudden slamming closed of the link following slight anger and embarrassment made her think that that image and thought had gotten through to him.

She laughed loudly, boredom momentarily forgotten. "Who knew Voldemort was human enough to feel embarrassment?" She chuckled to herself.

The Dursley's returned about an hour later, she could hear them banging around downstairs. She really hoped they let her out soon. The need to pee was getting painful. She knew better than to try getting their attention. That would only result in a beating which would probably make her piss herself at this point which would then probably make the beating worse. And contrary to popular belief, she did in fact have some self preservation.

Ava thanked every God and deity she had ever heard of when they finally let her out, practically sprinting to the bathroom. Afterwards she was given a cheese sandwich, a glass of water, and sent back to her room.

The next day seemed like just a repeat of the day before. Boredom was suffocating her. She was so bored she truly thought it would be the death of her. So bored she actually wished she had her school things with her so she could do her homework. That 3 feet long potions essay seemed awfully enticing at the moment.

"Would you stop the insistent whining?"

The sudden voice in her head startled her so much that she jolted up and took a tumble out of her bed. She froze when she hit the floor, eyes wide.

It's official. She thought to herself. The Dursley's have finally driven me insane.

The sudden feeling of amusement that shot through her made her groan in embarrassment. She forgot to bring up her occlumency barriers after her short exploration of the link yesterday.

"Yes, that was rather idiotic of you."

Before she could give a witty comeback, the pounding on her door caused her to flinch, realizing that her fall had made a rather loud thud. She wasn't allowed to make noise. How could her relatives forget she existed if they could still hear her?

"Girl! One more sound out of you and you'll regret it!" Her uncle bellowed through the door before stomping away.

Ava stayed frozen for a moment longer before she got up as quietly as possible, her back giving a twinge as the scabbing skin pulled as if to remind her why she didn't want her uncle's anger directed onto her.

The feeling of curiosity and confusion that drifted through had her throwing up her barriers so fast she got a headache and was sure Voldemort probably did to. Her face flushed in shame hoping beyond hope that none of that got through to her enemy. Not even her friends knew what she went through in this prison she was forced to call home. Giving her enemy even more ammunition to use against her like that was the last thing the dark-haired girl wanted or needed.

The Dark Lord

The Dark Lord Voldemort clutched his head in pain, cursing the infuriating little thorn in his side for so violently throwing him out of her head. He wasn't even sure why he went there to begin with. He couldn't look through her memories or even send her false visions to torment her. With her surprisingly strong occlumency the only thing he could do was sense her feelings and whatever she was thinking at the time. And only when her barriers were dropped slightly like they just were.

He supposed it was curiosity. He was still getting used to feeling again after being nothing but a wraith for so long, and then Wormtail horrendously messing up his rebirth potion causing temporary insanity and a rather grotesque image of himself. He had just finished the daily potions he had to take until the issue has been corrected. It left him feeling out of sorts. Until he got used to feelings again, he would act on them more than he'd like to admit.

When he had first felt the prod on the link from Potter's end he though she was trying to break through to get information on him. Until he felt the absolute, mind numbing boredom that followed the prod. Then he was just incredulous. The girl was poking at him because she was bored!?

So, feeling curious but also weary, he poked back. What could he say? He was bored too. Being sane again made it to where he couldn't just crucio his followers whenever he wanted. He was still weary though, expecting his enemy to attack if he let his guard down for a second.

The impression he got in return made him flush in embarrassment for reasons unknown and shut the annoying chit out.

Then, having nothing to do a day later, he decided to try the link again, unable to deny his damnable curiosity. He quickly realized that she never closed her side of the link and was instantly besieged with thoughts of boredom. Really, did she have nothing to do!? Was the order training her or anything, or did she think she didn't need to train to defeat him? It was kind of insulting.

"Would you stop the insistent whining?"

He thought to her, annoyed. It turned to amusement when he realized he had surprised her into falling out of what he assumed was a bed. His amusement got even stronger when she thought she was going insane.

"So stupid. Forgot to close the link."

The words drifted lazily across to him meaning she was thinking to herself and not him.

"Yes, that was rather idiotic of you."

Voldemort could feel her need to snap at him before the feeling of fear and slight pain replaced it. The fear and pain was not from him so he tried to prod a bit deeper getting a slightly fuzzy memory of a big whale of a man with a belt in hand, standing over her. The memory came easier than he thought it would meaning that she was probably thinking about it. This only confused him. Why was she thinking about that? Who was this man and why did she fear him so? She never felt that when facing himself.

"I'm not allowed to make noise. How could my relatives forget I exist if they could still hear me."

That made him curious and confused. Not allowed to make noise? Forget she existed? What kind of people did the golden girl live with?

The sudden mortification he felt from her end and the slamming of her occlumency barriers caused a sharp spike of pain to shoot through his head. He cursed her for a minute or two before trying to determine what he had seen in his enemies mind. It took a few seconds to remember the fat man was towering over her holding a leather belt. A belt dripping with blood.

Surprise shot through him. Surly that couldn't be her uncle that Snape mentioned once. Everyone was under the impression that the girl-who-lived was spoiled rotten. This needed looking into. Why would she be fighting for the light and defending muggles if they treated her so deplorably.