Mrs. Pewter sat in her cozy living room, a cup of tea on the nearby table and warm flames in the fireplace. She swayed back and forth in the old family rocking chair made of yew, as a pair of needles clicked and clacked in the air knitting something fierce.
It was a typical evening for her. It had been for the last three years. Warm tea, a skein of yarn and rocking back and forth, regretting and wishing things had gone much differently. But on that warm July day something was about to change for Mrs. Pewter. The first sign she missed were the silent birds that inhabited the nearby forest. The second sign was the flash of green she failed to see as she placed her cup of tea on the table. The last sign, however, was the most obvious. A draft of wind had been picking up ever since the door was left ajar a little earlier when an intruder made his way into Mrs. Pewter's home.
The man, dark hair and bright blue eyes, stood behind Mrs. Pewter just out of sight. He could make this fast and simple but he was enjoying it, truth be told. She would be his third and the anticipation was only rivalled by his desire to appreciate every second before she lay on the floor lifeless.
Still in the back of his mind he knew he had a mission to complete and the more time went by, the more challenges he could encounter.
"Petrificus Totalus," he hissed, before walking toward her.
She was on the floor, unable to move, unable to reach her wand. One can never be too careful, he thought before kicking it away. He aimed his wand at her again before whispering "Mobilicorpus."
He turned and walked toward the second floor, to her bedroom. Her frozen, floating body followed him.
"You're a bad woman, Mrs. Pewter," he spoke a little louder this time. A little less afraid. "Oh, yes you are."
He pointed to her bed with his wand, and she landed atop the floral-covered duvet, her eyes still screaming for help. The man stared back at her, as if their eyes could understand each other. "No one's coming to help you, Mrs. Pewter. No one at all. Are you scared? You should be," he said, laughing. "I worried that this new appearance might not be suited for the job but I can smell the fear on you."
He looked in the mirror and tussled his dark hair. He licked his lips and then aimed his wand at the immobile body in front of him. He smiled again before speaking the words that she had been dreading to hear.
The man knew he did not have much longer, soon enough a nosy neighbour would give her a ring to ask about the flashes of green light they kept on seeing. He needed to make his exit. He finished up in the room, before he went back downstairs. He paused as he grabbed a pastry from the table and then left the house through the back door. He walked a couple of steps into her backyard, aimed his wand at the grass and whispered a spell before disappearing with a loud crack.