Entry for "Myths and Legends" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"
Task: Write a story where you are focusing on someone who is maybe on the brink of death, or knows that they are going to die soon, and they're looking back on their life, thinking about their accomplishments and regrets. Min 700 words
Entry for "Hopscotch" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"
Prompts: "I need three more!" (dialogue), mission (word), "Damn, I thought I was going to fall." (dialogue)
The moment Emmeline Vance reached the street level after leaving the tube station and headed towards Downing Street No. 1 she knew that there was something wrong this evening.
Anybody walking with her would not have noticed anything, really, as on the first sight, everything looked the same, even to Emmeline, and if someone could judge that, than it was her. Over the last weeks, she had been here nearly every evening, as she had taken over the duty to watch the surroundings of the places the muggle prime minister was spending time at. Even though Kingsley Shacklebolt was already a good protection to the minister, Dumbledore had decided that Emmeline should help out, to be better safe than sorry.
So, she had been walking this way nearly every evening over the last weeks, secretly taking over from whichever Order member was having the day shift. And this was definitely different from the missions she was usually sent on – here, she had a certain routine. She knew which people she would see, and she knew which kind of atmosphere she was supposed to feel – the of people looking forward to their end of work beer or to just going home to sleep after a long, hard day of work. Colleagues were chatting about work or about dates that they would be having soon, and everything just seemed relaxed, normal.
Today, the people acted the same, nothing unusual happened as she walked towards the meeting point, but still she had a bad feeling. Her fingers were tightened around her wand, which she had hidden in the pocket of her beige coat, and her eyes were wandering over the faces of the people she walked past. In this mass of people she was walking in it was nearly impossible to tell if she was being followed, so she had to push aside that feeling, but there still was some foreboding restlessness bubbling inside of her.
On the next corner, she met Hestia Jones, and she asked herself if she should talk to her about the bad feeling she had, about the changed atmosphere she sensed, but Hestia looked so tired that Emmeline decided not to bother her friend. It probably was a false feeling anyway, since her childhood Emmeline had always experienced that she would be anxious about things way faster than other people.
"Hey Hestia. Everything okay?" Emmeline asked as she stopped next to Hestia, who was holding up a newspaper, pointing at the crossword puzzle and answered:"I need three more, then I can win a... what do they call it... a toaster."
"Exciting," Emmeline winked and took a deep breath, considered telling Hestia for a second time, but then she just shoved her feelings away and said goodbye to Hestia, wishing her a good night.
Emmeline was just turning to walk down a side street near Downing Street when she saw him.
In the first moment, she had been convinced that she had been imagining it, that she had seen a person who looked a lot like the man she knew from the wanted posters in Diagon Alley.
But upon turning her heads towards the spot where she had seen him, she had to realise that she had not imagined it.
Across the street he was standing, staring at her.
And he was not alone.
She had forgotten his name, and also the names of the two men accompanying him, but that was something that did not matter in this moment. All that mattered was the fact that they were here, three Death Eaters, known murderers, and this surely was no coincidence.
So, obviously, her feeling had been right. If only she had trusted herself and her bad feeling a little bit more and had told Hestia about it...
Her heartbeat quickened and Hestia tried to think about what to do. It was clear why they were here, really, she would have been dumb to think that they were not here to target her.
Emmeline did not really plan to be outright pessimistic, but the facts were clear – she was alone, they were thrice as many people, and her magical abilities were good, she was a talented witch, but still not good enough to match those of three wizards.
There was no way out of this situation, and she knew it. All she could do was continue to walk into the side street, which was, as she now saw, completely empty.
And was her feet carried her over the pavement, she allowed her thoughts to wander, knowing that all would be over soon, and that she could be glad that she at least had time to think about everything that had happened in her life.
How she wished that she had the time to say goodbye to the people she loved... or tell people she loved them...
Had Emmeline known that this day would end like this she surely would have down at least one thing differently today...
"Hey, Emmeline, how nice to see you," Sirius grinned as Emmeline entered the kitchen of Grimmauld Place Number Twelve. She just wanted to see if she could find something to eat there as her own fridge was more than empty and she was sure that she would need some food tonight.
"Sirius... no wine today?" She winked at him and gently patted his shoulder as she walked past him, enjoying the slight tingling sensation that did shoot through her fingers as she felt the warmth of his skin through the fabric of his shirt.
"I already told you not to make fun of that. And if you would spent more time with me, my love, than I would not be forced to drink to enjoy this horrible house."
Emmeline sighed as she opened a cupboard and took some apples out to slip them into her handbag. She knew how frustrating it had to be for Sirius to be stuck here, but she could not change this situation and she also knew that it would not help him if she said that she could not stay because she had an Order job to do.
"I am sorry, Sirius. But if you want me to stay you should try and offer something more tempting than standing around in Downing Street all night."
Sirius stood up from his chair and walked up to her, smiling at her with the charming expression that she just knew all too well, and he nearly looked like the young, whole man that had flirted with her during their school time. He stumbled slightly during his last step and he supported himself through pressing his hands against the cupboard behind her, his arms left and right from her body.
"Damn, I thought I was going to fall...Oh Emmeline... you know all I have to offer is my heart and my still hot body. And I know that this is more than enough for you, my beautiful girl."
A part of her told her that he was just joking, but as she looked up into his grey eyes she could see it.
Real affection.
This was serious, and it scared her, even though she had had feelings for him since their Seventh Year. What if this would not work out because she had been imagining how a relationship would be with him so many times that her expectations were just too high?
"Umm... I have to go...," she mumbled, gently shoving him away before leaving the kitchen, her heart racing in her chest.
Looking back, she really should have told him that she loved him, but well, who could have known that this would be the last time she'd see him?!
But well, she assumed that she still was lucky – not having told Sirius Black that she loved him was the only thing she regretted at this point in her life.
In her life, she had always sticked to her own ideals, had supported the Order of the Phoenix and was more than proud of herself for having done so, no matter how dangerous some situations had been, especially during the First Wizarding War.
Emmeline was grateful for the life she had been able to live, surrounded by friends who had been able to take the pain of loosing her family during the war away, who had supported her through her darkest times and had laughed with her in the happy ones.
Yes, her life had been worth living, and there was nothing she would have done differently.
Except for that one thing.
And as she heard the footsteps getting louder behind her, she thought of Sirius, and the last thing she saw in front of her eyes as the green light hit her was not the street, but his grey eyes.