Alecto continued to stare as her wand left her hand, but Amycus's angry words reached her mind and made her shrink back into the chair, away from him, as though she had been hit. She wasn't yet aware of the tears that had gathered in her eyes and rolled softly down her cheeks. It physically pained her to look at her brother, so she stared instead at the rolled up carpet, slowly becoming red with blood. Her breathing become erratic as her mind raced; her behaviour became childlike as she curled up and hid her face in her hands, all the while whispering, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," over and over again. The last time she had lost control like this, it had not been this bad, and Amycus had not been standing so near to her. It also hadn't been this messy.