Forever and Always

I remember that day so clearly. So clearly... Its like a permanent marker has etched its way over my mind and imprinted something which will always be there, never to be forgotten. Never, for as long as I walk this planet, will that day... that evening... be forgotten.

My name? Maura. It is a name of dark origin, much like my family; whom are long dead. They're death was within the great war; the final confrontation of the Dark Lord. I cannot remember much, since things more dark and more sinister have happened since then. Not to everyone; just myself and the one person whom I have always loved... forever and always.

I was taken. Taken on the eve of our wedding. Taken by the last remaining Death Eaters, still loyal to the Dark Lord. The reason is still not known to me, but many things have happened since then. My fiancée... Draco;I heard many a terrifying story of how my absence sent him crazy; sent him insane while I was being held captive.

A dark room was all I can remember. A dark room; being shackled to the wall by my ankles and wrists. Still the burns from struggling throb, even now as I walk through the rain. The stories they told me, of how Draco had gone insane, of how he had murdered people in anger; his longing to get me back was intense; they hold my thoughts captive... my mind is their slave. I also heard that he had committed suicide... but that I cant believe... my heart wont allow me to believe.

After three years... Three long years of torture they let me free. I was literally thrown from the dark room and out into the cold countryside. I didn't know where I was... I still don't. Yesterday was my day of release and I find myself walking through the heavy rain in the vague direction of Malfoy Manor. There I hope to find Draco and be reunited again; my heart longs for his touch...I cannot bear another day away from him; but my Magic is weak. I have to walk. Walk the way in which I feel to be right.

The rain still falls and my thoughts turn to that of Draco's parents. They moved to Peru a while ago, three weeks after we announced our engagement. Whereas Narcissa wanted everything to do with it... Lucius protested. He did not want to be involved; but he didn't say no the the idea. They're moving left Malfoy Manor to Draco, where we would both live before and after the wedding; which we would do in secret. We didn't want a big celebration.

As I turn a bend in the long road I am walking along, in the middle of endless fields and landscape still recovering from the war, I remember my wedding dress. Its yet another vivid picture within my mind. Black lace and long fabric... slim fitting and elegant. It was nothing fancy, but to us it was perfect. I left it in my dressing room, in the corner on a mannequin. My dressing room... Nothing much was in there: Clothes, obviously, and a dressing table covered in brightly coloured bottles of perfume and whatnot. I miss home... I miss the manor... I miss Draco...

Fatigue was setting in. I was weak already but the rain and freezing cold was wearing me down and my legs began to feel wobbly. Staggering to the side of the deserted road, I sat down and looked to the sky. There was no sign on the rain letting up. I was cold, wet, tired and lonely. I would do anything to be back at the manor, curled up in Draco's arms in front of the large fireplace in the main room. But no... I was still in the rain. Only now, I had begun to walk again and the small village in which the manor was near was upon my horizon.

My pace somehow quickened. I was now running although still unsteady on my feet. I called out; no-one was there. No-one was ever there. The village folk nearly always kept themselves to themselves; except this time. An elderly looking man walked over to where I had just collapsed.
"You're the late Malfoy's girl..." he said, somewhat leaning over me.

"I am..." My mind then adjusted to what he has said, "Late?"

"Ah yes, the young lad missed you so much... it sent him insane lass. Completely insane...He killed the pub landlord because he became convinced it was him that took you; no-one could tell him otherwise. The butcher is also dead... Malfoy had him too. Poor Malcolm... He was found pinned to the wall in the Butcher's shop cellar; pinned to the wall by the very knives he used to slice the meat. His death looked slow. There was something sick going on in Malfoy's mind that night... blood scattered the floor in every direction and Malcolm's rib cage had been split open, revealing all. It was not a healthy sight. Number three then died. Sgt. Peter Goodfellow, our local police officer. He was the first to find Malcolm. The mere sight of it sent him insane and he committed suicide off River Bridge the same day. Then... After all the murder and all of the heartache, he took his own life. He couldn't cope without you lass. No-one knows exactly how he did it. Nobody knows if he actually did really..." He paused to ponder for a moment, "He probably did though, nobody has seen or heard from him in well over two years."

I could find no words to use. Draco...please... no... I staggered up off my feet and meandered my way down the cobbled street towards the woods. I would have to go through the woods to find the grounds of the manor... Draco... please be there... please...The road seemed to go on forever in my blurred vision. I felt myself swaying from side to side as each of my legs took turns to move forward. They felt like lead-weights...

Time passed slowly and I finally reached the iron gates leading into the long drive of the manor. The hedge either side of them had not been tamed in a long while; its leaves and branches were sticking out making them look long forgotten. The iron gates themselves were laced with spider's webs and were eroded from the rain. Finding the strength, I threw the charm at the gates and after a bit of a struggle, they lurched open; breaking some of the webs which had lashed them together.

I caught my breath before making my way up the long driveway towards the grey-stoned manor house. Even a few years ago it looked somewhat warm, even with its dark appearance: But now it looked plain cold and forgotten. The windows had frosted over so much, along with dust and cobwebs, you couldn't see through them at all and they seemed to only let in a little light. Parts of the outer walls has begun to crack and it was obvious a few roof tiles we're missing since they we're smashed all over the doorstep and various other places around the exterior of the manor.

The place in which I once called home now looked uninhabited and frightening. My mind brought up an image of an old haunted house out of a movie Draco and I once watched... I remember being so terrified I hid my face into his chest... memories.The manor was now a place of death and destruction in my eyes. A thick mist weaved its way around my ankles as I stepped onto the doorstep and brushed away more cobwebs from the doorknob. More of them stuck to my torn clothes as I pushed the door open. It was stiff, and let out a large creak as it moved; the hinges were rusted.

My heart was not ready for what I saw inside. Everything was as it was all those years ago, only there was a thick coat of dust over all the furniture and cobwebs which looked as dense as snow hung and clung to the ceiling, candles and various other things. It was eerie; every step I took was met by an echo much greater than the initial sound. The echo seemed to ring on for an unmeasurable amount of time... I used to think the graveyard and Crypt in the western grounds of the manor was eerie... This was much more so.

My mind then turned to Draco and an immediate adrenaline rush filled my veins; I felt no more pain, no more fatigue, no more stress. I ran through various webs towards the main room, where I could see the glow of a fire. Inside was exactly how it was left... there was no dust, no webs... no Draco. It was impossible to have lived in just this room... The kitchen was on the other side of the manor and looking at the state of what I had just walked through, I would put a bet on the rest of the manor looking the same.

"D-Draco...?" I called out, quietly at first. When I didn't get an answer, I called out louder. Still there was no reply. I looked around the room, which had been kept warm and cosy... Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a letter written on a piece of yellowed parchment in black ink. Picking it up, I sat onto the sofa and crossed my legs; ready to read it. I expected it to say that he had popped out... that he would be back soon...

"Dear the reader,
By the time you have read this letter, I would have left. Left this god-forsaken world as we know it... Even as I sit here now, listening to her sing lullabies with her angelic voice, I feel pain through my heart. My dear Maura... my dear, dear Maura... Why we're you taken from me? We were due to get married, just one day later than that evening in which you we're snatched from my very arms.

Her voice has been a comfort throughout this dark time. I am now glad of those recordings I took... I knew I would need them one day... but never did my mind even begin to comprehend that I would ever need them in this way. I have tried to stay sane... but those notes I know all too well are of no comfort to me any longer. I feel angered towards everything and my mind cannot cope any more. I fear that my dear Maura is no longer on this earth, and therefore I believe that I should not be either.

I am holding a silver goblet in my left hand, its contents is of a type of poison I have held, with an interest of studying it, for a long time. I feel that now is my time to leave this earth... If I cannot have my dear Maura, then I see no point in walking this earth any longer.

So I shall leave you. I must now make my way into the crypt where I will lie on the stone floor and await my end. The poison is now taking effect and I can feel my throat burning. If, by whatever miracle that my dear Maura is reading this, then remember that I love you; forever and always; and that a voice is comforting, even when everything seems dark and haunting. I will always be there for you... even if I am not in the flesh... there are ways around things...

For now, I leave my mystery behind. As the manor has been changed into a riddle. Each clue will lead you closer, closer... ever closer."

I felt tears strolling down my cheeks. He was dead...I cried out as my heart rebelled with pain. I screwed up the letter and threw it into the fire before me. That's why everything was so dust-covered, why no-one had seen him. The letter was dated two years ago...

I had heard of black magic that can bring loved ones back... but it is a magic so dense and so unpredictable that people have died painful deaths trying. This is what I will try. I will find the clues, I will solve the riddles, I will find where my love lies on the cold stone floor of the crypt; locked away from me, with no key in which to use.

I pull my knees into my chest. I will find you... I love you... forever and always... It was then that I felt a cool breeze creep its way over my body; making my eyes water. I looked around, but nothing could be seen. I closed my eyes and tried to forget... But I could feel tortured spirits around me, I could feel the pain, I could feel the fear.

"Maura..."

I sat bolt upright at the sound of my name roll off icy lips. The voice sounded pained and distant.

"Hello?" I said aloud, but nothing replied. I knew I was alone in the manor; I was the only one that was alive.

"Maura..."

I shut my eyes and tried to concentrate on the voice. It sounded somewhat familiar. Remember that a voice is comforting... a voice is comforting...

"Draco?"