Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 7
Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Beater 1
Task: Write about the potion 'Elixir of Life'
Prompts Used:
(poem) 'Winter' by Jan Allison
(word) envelope
(closing sentence) That was for certain.
Word Count: 1,345
thick blanket of snow
snuggling the flowerbeds
with a winter wrap
Nicolas Flamel was sitting with Perenelle in the garden, wrapped up in a coat to keep out the cold, Winter wind, when the envelope arrived. He immediately recognised the great brown owl as the one that belonged to Albus, and nudged his wife, who looked up from her book.
The bird soared towards them and landed on the thin carpet of snow in front of Nicolas. There was a thick letter clutched in its beak, which it dropped in front of them before taking off again, the tips of its talons brushing the garden flowerbeds as it gained height.
Nicolas shook the snow off the letter before opening it, his old hands fumbling with the flap. Sure enough, it was a letter from Dumbledore.
Dear Nicolas and Perenelle,
If I have counted the days correctly, then I believe you must be down to your last vial of the Elixir of Life.
It saddens me greatly to ever think of losing you, but I take comfort in the fact that you have both lived great, full lives-much more so than any others, I might add. You have both been dear friends to me and it has been a pleasure to work with you on multiple occasions. I will always remember those evenings with the fine butterbeer and Perenelle's excellent cooking.
Unfortunately, I am currently indisposed to visit you anytime soon-and I dare say you would rather spend this time with each other, in any case.
While I am not in your exact position, I know how it feels to have something like a timer on your life. I can only hope that you can handle it better than I am currently doing.
My deepest condolences to the pair of you, though I rest assured that you will enjoy this next, most fascinating adventure.
Your good friend,
Albus Dumbledore.
Nicolas read the letter and looked over at Perenelle, who had a tear glistening on her pale cheek. "He's right," Nicolas said quietly. "We only have one more vial left each."
They stared at each other, the sorrow Nicolas was feeling mirrored in the face of his beloved. "Take my vial," Nicolas said suddenly. "Have my portion as well. Then you… then you can live longer."
He looked around him; at the flowers, dusted with snowflakes like icing sugar, at the bare brown trees and the blades of grass that poked up through the layer of snow. If he were to die now, there would be no place more beautiful to be in his last moments. And if he could give the love of his life a few extra days as well, then the sacrifice would be worth it. He would give anything for her to continue to live.
Perenelle leaned forward and grasped one of Nicolas' hands in hers. "I would have no life without you," she whispered.
It was true. The couple had been together for longer than either of them could remember. They continued to use the stone only because they wanted to stay with each other for as long as possible. When you have a love that is eternal, your very bones don't want to be apart from them, and you cling to life like a leech so as not to lose them.
She didn't care about dying. Not as long as she could be in the arms of the man she loved right up until that final moment. There was no better way to go.
"I love you," Nicolas said simply.
Perenelle gave her husband a small, sad smile. "I love you too," she said softly. "And if I could stay with you forever, I would. But…" she choked back her tears as she gazed with adoration at the man that had completed her. "But we can't."
Nicolas stood up and held out a hand to Perenelle, who took it and stood up with him. "It's time for us to move on," he said, and something in both of their hearts broke at those words.
Throughout their Elixir-extended lives, their only goal had been to stay together for as long as they possibly could. Because of this, they had wasted so much of their time. They had tried to make their lives grand. The couple had travelled around the world, thinking that it would make their lives complete, thinking that it was the best way to spend them.
But now that they were at the end, Nicolas wished he had spent less time going on adventures and more time just playing Wizard's Chess. More time strolling around the gardens, holding hands and content in the company of his wife. More time reading side by side in the study.
It is not the what or the where that makes your life complete, but the who. As long as you are there with someone you love, anything can be amazing.
Nicolas wished he hadn't taken the stone for granted, and that he had spent his life just doing the little things he loved more than anything, rather than trying to make his life grand.
Because he didn't want grand. He just wanted Perenelle.
Together, they strolled through the gardens back towards their house, walking silently arm in arm, content just to gaze around at the wonders of nature that they were experiencing for what felt like the first time.
When you know you're going to die, it is as if the whole world has decided to shine a little brighter and be a little more beautiful, almost to make up for it.
When they reached the house, the couple went to the study and took down the last two bottles from the shelf. Each was labelled Elixir of Life.
Their movements synchronised, as if they were two bodies but one being, they twisted the lids off, raised the bottles to their lips, and drank the potion that would grant them just two more days together before their deaths.
"I love you," Nicolas said again, as that sharp, bitter taste that he'd never quite gotten used to burned down his throat.
"I love you too," Perenelle replied quietly.
The next two days seemed to pass in a blur for the couple. Meals and drinks and walks and games began and finished in what felt like seconds, and before they knew it, they were lying in bed, their bones weary and their lungs burning for the Elixir.
It was like an addiction. They knew when they needed it because they began to feel like they were dying. Whenever the time drew close, they would get unimaginably tired and their throats would be sore and desperate for the burning taste of the Elixir of Life.
But this time, there was none.
Perenelle lay in her husband's arms, both of them propped up in bed. Nicolas stared out of the window, at the flakes of snow that were floating down, smothering the flowerbeds. For some reason, he took comfort in the fact that after they were gone, the flowers would still grow, the snow would still fall, and the world would go on. The lives that meant so much to them, that they clung to so desperately for so long, would fade away and be forgotten like a dream. They'd be nothing but a memory, which would eventually vanish forever when there was nobody left to remember them.
"I love you," Nicolas whispered for the last time.
Perenelle closed her tired eyes and smiled. "I love you, too," she said.
They lay there together, embracing each other, finally unafraid of death.
Yes, they had regrets, but Nicolas knew that everything had worked out perfectly in the end. His last moments were spent lying in bed with his loving wife, and if he could have it any other way, he wouldn't. He wouldn't change a single thing.
As he began to slip into the abyss of death, into a world of unknowns, he clung on to that thought. Life after death was a mystery, but no matter what happened, he knew he would always love Perenelle. That was for certain.