ROUND ELEVEN
Main prompts: Write about losing someone/thing on a windy day(s) OR winning someone/thing on a rainy night(s).
Optional prompts: 1 (song) Let It All Go – BIRDY + RHODES, 5 (word) asleep, 15 (song) Oceans – Seafret
Word count: 2,363
Every step of the way makes Helga Hufflepuff reconsider her choice to leave Hogwarts in the middle of the night. While the air is a bit cool, the wind is strong and cold, sending shivers down her spine each time it hits her. Fortunately, she used a spell to keep the fire burning on top of the torch she took with her, helping her make her way through the darkness and towards a nearby Muggle village. Her arm hurts from holding the torch for over an hour now, and in every few steps she feels stones digging into her feet, but her mind is too busy with her thoughts to care about the pain.
''Stop being blinded by your love for me, Helga. You're too smart to believe that I would change my opinions on blood purity because of you.''
The words Salazar told her this evening keep running through her head. At first, they angered her to the point where she was angrily muttering things she could have told him like a mad woman. Now, however, the things he said simply sadden her. She does love him, but she is so tired of fighting his prejudiced opinions. It's why she left; she needs to take time for herself and think about what is going to happen between the two of them from now on.
''I'm not blinded by anything. You are the one blinded. Blinded by hatred. If you can treat me as your equal, why do you insist on hating every other witch or wizard who are have any kind of Muggle blood in their bloodlines?'' she insisted.
It isn't only Salazar who tried to convince Helga over the past few months to give up on him; Rowena and Godric did, too. But she isn't one to give up easily, so she kept trying to make the former see reason. He refuses to accept Half-blood or Muggle-born students to Hogwarts, although Helga's own bloodline isn't as pure as he would have liked it to be due to a Half-blood great grandfather.
After she asked him the question that has been bugging her for months—what makes her different to him?—she was met with silence. She still wonders if Salazar has a real reason to why he hates Muggles and mixed bloodlines so much. She hoped he would have some kind of answer that she could argue with and convince him otherwise, but there was nothing she could do with silence and his torn expression.
Although she knows that he loves her as much as she loves him, she also knows that the subject of blood purity is too important for Hogwarts and for both of them not to affect their relationship. Instead of staying and continuing to feel like there are oceans between them, she decided to leave for a day or two. She doesn't know how she can live without him, but at this rate, she doesn't know if they'll be able to stay together.
Choosing to let go of the person you love must be one of the hardest things a person can do. Her chest hurts as she thinks of how things will change if she'll go through with her choice. She hopes Salazar will understand and won't try to change her mind; she can only hide and try to drown her emotions so well. If he'll try to fight for her, it will make both of them suffer. It's better just to let it go.
Sighing, she looks, taking in the sight of dawn painting the blue sky in warm shades of orange and a soft pink. Helga allows herself to enjoy the various shades that paint the sky before she brings her gaze back to the village in front of her. Hopefully, its local tavern will take her in in such an hour.
A rooster is heard from somewhere and the realization that it's already morning falls upon her. Finally, her energy drops and she begins to feel tired. She watches as the village begins to come to life when two men step out of their house to start taking care of their household. No longer in need of the torch, she pulls out her wand, puts off the fire and transfigures the torch itself into a bracelet. Then, she hides her wand again and puts the jewelry around her wrist.
Out of habit, Helga lifts her hand to touch her ear, only to realize one of her earrings is missing. She glances at the ground, hoping that it has fallen off now, but she sees nothing aside from wet grass. Upset, she turns around and looks back at the way she has walked through.
"Accio earring," she whispers, the sound of her words not heard in the whistling of the strong wind.
Unfortunately, nothing happens. Sighing, Helga bitterly wonders what else is going to turn bad for her. She stands there for a few more seconds and does nothing when she feels the hood of her cloak thrown off her hair by the wind. She has more important things than to worry about an earring that never meant something special to her.
When she continues her journey away from Hogwarts, two figures draw her attention and she notices a man and a girl walking in her direction. Helga lets her gaze linger on the two. It's very rare that people randomly head towards her school. After all, the school year has already begun and the girl doesn't look familiar.
"M'lady," a deep voice cuts through the silence.
The man is now looking at Helga, his hand clutching his daughter's shoulder-or at least she assumes he's the father. Helga immediately notices his mysterious image due to his unshaven facial hair, and his dark clothes.
''Sir,'' she replies curiously and stops in front of him.
His hazel eyes study her, but she tries to act like she doesn't notice.
''You're Helga Hufflepuff, aren't you?'' he asks with a small smile.
''How can I help you?'' the blonde asks, preferring not to confirm her identity to a stranger.
She would rather not take risks around strangers. Rumors about Muggles burning witches has been spreading across the country and while she knows she will have the upper hand against them, but she thinks every unnecessary attention from Muggles is bad.
"My daughter, she's… you know. Like us," he explains. She glances at the girl, who is looking at her with bug eyes, and something feels strange about her. "She accidentally broke a few things back at home. I'm friends with Salazar and he told me that she could have a place in your school."
Even though he mentioned Salazar, Helga feels an unavoidable skepticism and says, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. Maybe if you could show me…"
The man nods and squeezes his daughter's shoulder as encouragement. Helga turns her attention to the letter, who does and says nothing, while the wind makes a mess out of her long, wavy coconut-colored hair.
''I'm sorry, she's very shy,'' the man says nervously before turning to the girl. ''Elizabeth, dear, do what we talked about.''
Elizabeth only blinks.
After glancing between the strangers, Helga crouches in front of the girl without caring that her dress is probably going to get dirty. She smiles at her softly and says, ''Don't be afraid, Lizzie. Show me.''
''I can make things fly,'' Elizabeth whispers.
An idea pops into the witch's head and she takes off her remaining earring, before handing it to the girl. ''Here, use this.''
Elizabeth puts the earring on top of her open palm. Two pairs of eyes stare at the small hand with anticipation. First, the piece of jewelry starts shaking, then, it slowly starts raising, until it's in Helga's eye-level, about thirty centimeters from where it was.
Helga breaks into a smile and meets the gaze of the girl in front of her. To her disappointment, she doesn't smile back. The blonde opens her mouth to compliment her when a voice interrupts her.
''Expelliarmus.''
Slipping from its hiding spot under her sleeve, Helga's wand flies away from her. She hurries to stand up, coming face to face with Elizabeth's father, who is pointing his wand at her with a satisfied smirk.
''You're more foolish than I've imagined, letting a stupid child distract you like that,'' he says with a small shake of his head.
She would have preferred to be standing up against a Muggle than being disarmed against another wizard. Swallowing, she refuses to show that she is afraid and keeps her head held high.
''What do you want?'' she asks.
Chuckling, he says, ''Straight to the point, I like it. Darling, I'm going to give you two options and all you need to do is choose, alright? One, you step away from your position at Hogwarts and get your traitor self away from there. Two, you die. Simple, innit?''
Helga's mind is swimming with questions—will he really kill her? Did someone send him? Does Salazar have something to do with it? What about Elizabeth, how did she get in the middle of all of this?—but she reminds herself not busy herself with them too much. She has already been distracted one too many times.
''I will not leave,'' she says determinedly.
The expression on the man's face darkens and he steps closer until his wand is digging into her neck. It seems to her that the calmness she is showing is irritating him by the way he clenches his jaw. Staring back at him, she waits to see what he'll do next. One might think that she is trying to test him and how serious he is about what he said, but she fully meant it when she said she won't leave.
''Such a pretty woman, no wonder Salazar has a thing for you. Although, I'm a bit disappointed because you obviously lack some common sense. Pretty thing, I'm reaching out for you right now, giving you a chance to live.''
His words begin to anger her. Helga hates it when people say she's stupid for standing by what she believes in. She doesn't know how yet, but she knows she'll have to find a way to fight him.
''How about,'' she says, ''you'll let Elizabeth go? Then, we'll finish this.''
His eyes drift to look at the child who's watching the scene. In the meanwhile, Helga uses the opportunity to twist his outstretched arm in a painful angle, causing him to groan in pain and for his hold on his wand to loosen. She tries to snatch his wand as she yells for Elizabeth to escape, but he recovers quickly and sends her to the ground with one hit.
Her hands stop her face from colliding with the ground. Her long, golden locks cover her face until she pushes them away and turns to face her attacker again. He stands in front of her, growling angrily as his chest rises and falls in a quick rhythm.
''Always standing up for the weak ones, how admirable. But you've made one mistake that's going to cost you everything,'' he says. Leaning down, he grabs her face and looks at her coldly. ''You should have never let all these filthy Muggles into Hogwarts.''
''What do you care? You have nothing to do with the school,'' she hisses.
His grip tightens and he replies, ''This is much bigger than you think it is, dear Helga. I don't want bloodlines that people have been keeping pure for long before you were born to be ruined because of some poor, little, unimportant woman. And I'm far from being the only one.''
The looks Helga is giving isn't one that many people got to see on her. She glares at him with the same hatred that he is looking at her with. His words and opinions are nothing new to her, but they won't change her own opinions. Not ready to give up yet, she kicks his groin, causing him to stumble away from her.
Free, she looks around and sees the Elizabeth is gone, which gives her a bit of comfort. Helga pushes herself up back into a standing position, looking around for something that will help her get rid of the man. She notices his wand lying near him on the grass and hurries towards it. He notices it as well and tries to reach out for it, but she steps on hand to prevent him from taking it. While he groans again, she grabs the wand and looks down at the man in black, enjoying how their position switched.
"Give up. Salazar won't forgive you for this, so I suggest you stop trying to make things worse," she tells, although she is almost completely sure that she won't be able to convince him and change his mind.
Through gritted teeth, he says, "As if I care about him. He means nothing to me, especially since he started having a weak spot for you."
Next, Helga tries to cast a spell at him, but with surprising strength, he grabs her arm and sends the magic towards the clouded sky. The magicals struggle with each other for several minutes, fighting for dominance. Helga, experienced with self-defence, causes him some damage with her own hands and legs, yet he has more power because he still has his wand.
They end up standing in front of each other again. Helga's golden curls are messy and have pieces of grass in them, her clothes are dirty and her skin is painted with blue marks. She struggles to stand, her legs weak and tired, unlike her opponent.
"You fought hard, but it's over now," he says. Not wasting any more time, he points his wand at her and says, "Avada Kedavra."
Helga's eyes mirror the green light that flies towards her, hitting her in the chest. The curse sends her to lie on her back. Her hair lays perfectly underneath her and on her chest, her eyes stare at the sky as she exhales her last breath of life, dying like she always wished she would—for a good cause.