Secrets & Slytherins

Chapter 21: Shattered

"Don't hurt him! He's just a boy!" the woman shrieked, resulting in a menacing glare from her husband.

"It's okay, Mum. I can take it," replied the young boy. "Just like you do." Fear swam in his eyes, but his voice was full of confidence.

"You think you can talk back to me, boy?!" The man's deep voice echoed throughout the large home. "Hmm? You get your Hogwarts letter today and all of the sudden you think you're a man?" He raised a fist, punching his son square in the jaw.

The boy dropped to the ground, clutching his face to try to stop the pain as his father raised his fist at him once again.

"Antonin, don't!" The woman yelled, tears pouring down her face. She grabbed onto his arm, and he instantly spun to face her.

"That's enough! I'll teach this boy a lesson one way or another. Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light filled the room.

That color was everywhere he looked. Noah sat up abruptly, snapping his eyes open as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He shot his gaze around the Slytherin dormitory. Curtains, scarves, robes, and uniforms entered his field of vision. They were items he saw every morning when he woke up, but he had to admit that their green color seemed harsher to his eyes than usual.

Noah slid out of bed and looked in the mirror. His shirt was spotted with sweat and his hair ruffled in all the wrong places. He stared at his features, begging to Merlin he didn't look too much like his father. They were already alike in too many other ways.

Noah changed into fresh clothes, attempting to tame his unruly morning-hair. He gave a hearty tug on his sleeve before exiting the Slytherin dormitory. Entering the common room, he spotted Rachel on the couch by the fireplace.

"Morning," he mumbled tiredly, settling himself down on the couch next to her.

"Good morning," Rachel replied, giving him a quick kiss. "Ready for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry," he admitted, shaking his head. He felt rather nauseous, really.

"Oh, come on," she whined. Noah knew that she was trying to be cute, but she was truly just annoying him. "I know how we can work up an appetite."

Noah opened his mouth to say something back, but another voice jumped in before he could.

"Ah, come on, Dolohov. Your girl wants to fuck you and you won't let her?" Ryan asked with a chuckle. Rachel let a grin sneak on her face as she stared at Ryan.

"Shut the fuck up, Carrow," spat Noah. Merlin, he could not deal with this petty bullshit in the morning. Not after the night he had. The lack of sleep was making his brain all fuzzy.

"Not a morning person, huh?" Ryan teased. "Hey, I wouldn't be either if I was up all night screaming for 'Mum'".

Crash.

Noah stood up and snatched a glass figurine from off of the table next to him and sent it hurdling towards Ryan, or, more specifically, Ryan's head. Unfortunately, the boy dodged it, the artifact hitting the wall instead.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Noah shouted, bringing his hands up to his head, tugging at his hair.

"That was faster than I expected," Ryan muttered, glancing at Rachel.

The girl gave a few quick nods, replying, "Much faster."

Noah took a deep breath. Did he dare even ask? How much more fucked up could this morning get?

"And what, may I ask, was faster than expected?" Noah groaned, his patience running thin. He tried to stop his jaw from clenching, but it wasn't working very well.

"Noah Dolohov finally spiraling out of control," Rachel said simply. She rose from her seat on the couch and moved to stand next to Ryan.

Noah's heart stopped for a moment. He looked back and forth between the two of them quickly.

"I was going to have Rachel get you to fall so deeply in love with her, you know, just for the fun of it. I thought it might be entertaining to rip away another person you've attached yourself to, but Merlin, you crack easier than I ever could have thought," Ryan explained.

Rachel mouthed a 'sorry', but the childish smile on her face was anything but apologetic.

"What the fuck?" Noah asked to no one in particular.

Ryan continued, "I know Grace told you what I did to her...how I treated her. I needed to get my revenge somehow."

Noah's heart fluttered at the name. "And how exactly is pulling shit on me serving as revenge on her?"

"That stupid girl is so infatuated by you. I can't understand why. You and I are exactly the same. I'm just trying to bring out those rough parts of you." Ryan smirked, watching Noah's expression falter with each continuing word. "She'll still get treated like shit with you and, well, since you've finally cracked, you'll start acting just like your father."

"I'll be nothing like him," Noah shot back.

"Oh, Noah," Ryan laughed, wrapping an arm around Rachel. He glanced around the room at the mess of broken glass before saying, "You already are."