Jade stormed through the dimly lit corridors of Hogwarts, her breath coming in short, furious gasps. Her vision blurred with unshed tears, though not from sadness - no, this was something deeper. Something darker. The rage that consumed her felt foreign yet familiar, like an old friend she couldn't quite place.
She shoved the door of her dormitory open with a bang that echoed down the Slytherin hallways, causing a few curious students to peer out from their rooms before retreating quickly. They knew better than to get involved. Jade's reputation for a sharp tongue and unpredictable temper had grown in recent weeks, though none of them could fathom the true depths of her fury.
Jade didn't know when it started. Perhaps it was the whispers of secrets, the subtle shift in the atmosphere around her, or the dreams that left her gasping for air in the dead of night. All she knew was that she was slipping—losing herself to something unseen but all-encompassing. And now, she couldn't stop trembling, couldn't stop pacing, couldn't stop the thoughts clawing at her mind.
Inside the room, the anger surged, an uncontrollable force that demanded release. She grabbed the nearest lamp from her desk and hurled it across the room, watching it shatter against the stone wall. The sound was satisfying but not enough. Her books followed, flying off the shelves like missiles. A mirror cracked as she slammed her fist into its surface, blood seeping from the cuts on her knuckles.
"Fuck!" she screamed into the emptiness, her voice breaking.
The air around her felt heavy, oppressive. Whispers clawed at the edges of her mind - subtle at first, then louder, insistent.
You are strong, Jade... They cannot control you... Let me show you the way
She clutched her head, stumbling backward as the whispers turned into a guttural chant. Her heart pounded violently, and her vision darkened at the edges. It felt as though something was crawling under her skin, wrapping its cold tendrils around her very soul.
A hesitant knock at the door barely registered through the storm in her mind. When it swung open, Draco stepped inside, his face a mixture of concern and determination.
"Jade," he said softly, closing the door behind him. His grey eyes swept over the destruction - the shards of glass on the floor, the overturned furniture, and Jade herself, trembling in the center of the chaos. "What the hell is going on?" For once he feared her, something he never thought he'd admit.
Draco was already annoyed at Pansy's outburst in the Great Hall, that's why he thought to check on Jade; to see that she hadn't done anything stupid. Though after seeing the mess he realised that maybe Pansy was right, maybe Jade was a completely different person because he'd never seen her like this.
Jade had stopped properly talking to him about the voices weeks ago, she always seemed zoned out and disoriented. It was clear that all that consumed her was this task. Whilst Draco did think that his father stopped the voices, he was clearly wrong. Nothing had changed, if anything, it all got much worse.
She turned to him, her eyes wild, almost unrecognizable. A flicker of something dark passed through them, something that made Draco's stomach tighten.
"Get out," she hissed, her voice low and venomous.
"No," he said firmly, taking a cautious step closer. "Not until you tell me what's wrong." His tone was dangerous.
"Nothing's wrong!" she shouted, her voice laced with an unnatural sharpness that made Draco flinch. "I don't need you here, Draco. Leave me alone! Just fuck off, please!" She pleaded as her eyes filled with tears again. Jade had become so overwhelmed with the task and the expectations everyone held of her that she forgot to live. She was barely living, just surviving.
