Quidditch League Season 6: Caerphilly Catapults
Round 10: [Beater 2] Write about a person suffering from amnesia (or relevant memory impairment)
Prompts:
(object) potion vial
(object) blanket
i.
"Ariana, dear, it's time to take your potion," Kendra called through the window. She could see the little blue dress twirling back in the direction of their cottage, and she reached for the potion crate on the highest shelf.
"Mum, look!" Ariana thrust a bunch of roughly grabbed wild flowers into her mother's face. There were clumps of grass and drops of mud that splattered across the floor as Ariana moved across the room. "I picked them all myself!"
"For me? They're lovely." Kendra allowed herself a moment to place the bunch into a vase kept for exactly that purpose, and grabbed the potion vial tightly, knowing Ariana wouldn't protest but feeling guilty all the same – this was for Ariana. "Come, take your potion."
Ariana obediently opened her mouth, swallowing the potion in a single gulp.
"Sleepy, Mamma." Ariana blinked lazily up at Kendra.
Kendra forced a tight smile across her lips. "Would you like Mamma to tuck you in?"
"Abey blanket."
Kendra chuckled. "Of course."
ii.
Kendra ran to the circle of boys, Percival hot on her heels. She would usually leave the circle of boys alone, but the glimpse of Ariana's pink blanket had terrified her. She had to check, just to make sure it wasn't her daughter.
Kendra felt terror wash over her as she saw her daughter's prone form. A few of the boys had noticed them and taken off running.
"What is going on here?" Percival thundered next to her. Kendra was momentarily glad to remember that his wand was still on the kitchen table.
"We were just trying to get your daughter to do her freaky trick again."
Kendra pushed her way through the group of boys, glaring at each of them as she passed. Ariana was bruised and bloody and Kendra knew she never should have let her out of her sight. She had that terrible feeling hanging over her the entire day. Kendra should have known better.
"Freaky trick?" Kendra knew Percival's rage would only increase. The boys didn't seem to understand what they had done – and they probably never would. The Statute of Secrecy would never allow it.
"Percival! We need to get Ariana back to the cottage. You can talk to their parents later," Kendra pleaded. There was nothing either of them could do. Any magic would make it worse, and Percival's rage would only exacerbate the situation.
"Yeah, take your freak of a daughter away. No one wants to see her anyway."
Within seconds, Kendra's wand was flying out of her skirt pocket and into Percival's waiting palm. It barely took a further moment for the remaining quartet of boys to be placed under painful curses.
"Percival, stop! Ariana needs us. Leave the rest of them!"
The cracks that followed minutes later alerted her to the arrival of the Ministry officials, and Kendra allowed helplessness to envelop her.
iii.
"It's not a permanent solution, Kendra," Bathilda warned, cupping Ariana's head and easing the potion down her throat. "This potion will help her temporarily forget the incident, so as she gets older the memory will fade faster."
Kendra nodded, wringing her hands. "That's all I want. I just want Ariana to move on from that incident, but she remembers it so vividly."
"I know," Balthilda sighed. "If it's taken too often, it can lead to permanent amnesia. Give it to her only when absolutely necessary. Avoid it as much as you can, Kendra."
"Thank you so much for helping us. I'm sure Percival will be equally grateful when I owl him the news."
Bathilda smiled, her usual severe expression easing. "I have no doubt that he will. I wish there were a way I could help with releasing Percival."
"I'll keep trying. I'm not going to let him live the rest of his life in Azkaban for a moment of rage," Kendra promised.
iv.
"Where's Papa?"
"He's planning a surprise for you."
The practised lie fell from Kendra's lips before she had even acknowledged the question. It was the same lie she fed Ariana every time she asked – only Ariana never remembered repeating her question.
Ariana cocked her head in Kendra's direction. "Birthday?"
"Shhhh! I'm not supposed to tell. Papa will be upset with me if he finds out," Kendra stage-whispered, and Ariana giggled.
Ariana raised the red blanket in her hand, "Albus?"
"Neither of them know either. They tell you everything, don't they?" Kendra forced a playful smile, and chose to distract Ariana by chasing her around the sitting room.
Kendra was breathing heavily when she finally grabbed Ariana around the waist. Ariana shrieked and wriggled, somehow still having energy despite collapsing on the floor seconds earlier.
"Time for the potion, Ariana," Kendra whispered, kissing Ariana's forehead.
"Potion! Potion! Potion!"
Ariana grabbed the potion vial herself, releasing Albus's red blanket as she did. The guilt in Kendra's heart grew.
v.
Ariana hid behind Kendra as she stared at her brothers in silent confusion. Kendra wished she could go back and stop herself – Bathilda had warned her. She had assumed showing Ariana the pictures would be enough for her to remember her brothers.
"Ariana?" Aberforth started, taking a step forward.
Ariana's eyes widened. "Mamma, how does he know my name?"
"What are you talking about, Ariana? I'm your brother. Of course I know your name," Aberforth tried again.
Kendra closed her eyes, feeling her sons' stares on her. They wanted an explanation, and Kendra didn't know if she could give them one.
Aberforth picked up the blue blanket that had been lying on a nearby chair. "See? This is my blanket."
Ariana looked between Aberforth and the blanket with wide eyes.
"Mom, what happened to Ariana?" Albus asked finally. "She wasn't this bad when-"
Ariana took that moment to burst into tears. "My Mamma! You're lying! You're going to take Mamma away! Go away!"
Kendra could feel Ariana's pressure against her legs, trying to push her further into the cottage. She picked Ariana up, even as she could feel panic building within her. Kendra avoided her sons' gazes as she shushed Ariana.
Albus moved across the room and picked up a glittering vial. Kendra froze at the sight of the potion vial in Albus's hands, knowing her smart son would figure it out within moments.
"You've been feeding Ariana a potion, haven't you? You do know that potions don't work as intended for witches and wizards with unstable magic."
"Bathilda suggested it for-" Kendra started.
"For the memory of the attack. She should have warned you about the dosages, and not to exceed one every two months. Ariana doesn't remember us, Mum. Not even Aberforth, and you know how much they adored each other."
Aberforth collapsed into a couch chair. "You have to stop it. I don't care about her inability to use magic the way we do, but I want my sister back. She doesn't have to be perfect. She doesn't need to join me in Hufflepuff. She doesn't even need to attend Hogwarts. I just want my baby sister, even if she isn't the Ariana I knew before."
"We have no promise that she'll remember any of us any more, but the potion has to stop." Albus declared.
"For once, I agree with Albus. Go put Ariana to bed, and we'll clear out whatver potions we find." Aberforth's head was still resting in his hands, and Kendra knew he had been hurt by Ariana not recognising him.
"You can't-"
Aberforth shook his head. "No, you can't. Put Ariana to bed, Mum."
Kendra lingered for a moment longer, before conceding. Her guilt grew, but she knew that if anyone could fix her mistake, the pair of them were standing in her sitting room at that very moment.
And she would do whatever she could to make everything right.