A/N: Written for the International Wizarding School Championship.
Many thanks to Hemlockconium for Beta-ing!
Quick Notes: Mo grá is Irish for "My love," Oberon means Noble and is a character in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Death's Second Self refers to William Shakespeare's 73rd Sonnet.
School: Beauxbatons
Year: Year 1
Theme: Secrecy Era - 1692 to 1880
Main Prompt: 13.) Death [Character]
Side Prompt: 15.) Trial (can be a legal trial or witch trial dependant on the era) [Event]
Word Count: 2556
"Amy Hawkins? May I speak with you for a second?" Isolt Sayre asked, popping her head into the classroom that Amy was currently in. Isolt looked distressed, which was unusual.
Amy looked to her DADA teacher, Miss Rionach, who nodded. Fidgeting slightly, Amy got up out of her chair and followed Isolt out of the room. The Headmistress led her to the kitchen of the house, where Isolt motioned for her to sit at the table. Amy did and was given a cup of tea.
"Would you like a cookie, Amy?" she asked, giving Amy the jar.
"Sure, thanks, Miss Isolt," Amy said, selecting one. Amy figited and stared around the room as Isolt swirled her tea around her cup thoughtfully. "Miss Isolt, what's wrong?" Amy asked the usually optimistic, bubbly woman when the silence became too heavy to bear.
"Amy, you've heard of the goings-on in Salem recently, have you not?"
"Yes, Miss. They've accused different people of witchcraft and have had some executed, but only two of them were magical. None have survived, though, not even the real ones. Why?"
"Well, this may come as a bit of a shock, but I've recently received word that your sister Alice is being accused. I only heard this morning that her trial is set for today. I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Isolt said to the frozen teen.
Tears streaked down the girl's face. Alice… the only person that had been there for her since their parents had died of illness. Alice had taken care of Amy since she was eleven and Alice sixteen, and they had gone to Ilvermorny together for a year. Alice had taught Amy to braid her hair, and Amy had taught Alice how to sneak into the kitchen without William, the grumpy old Pukwudgie, catching them. The girls were inseparable in the school year they'd spent together.
That had been four years ago.
"Miss… Miss Isolt, what will happen to Alice?" Amy asked.
"Well, dear, if she's convicted, then she'll… she'll be hung. Probably tomorrow. I'm so sorry, honey," Isolt said, giving the girl a hug. Isolt cared for the students at Ilvermorny like she cared for her children. "Darling, I know this is a shock. Why don't you lie down for a bit? Would you like a Calming Draught? Or maybe a Dreamless Sleep Potion?"
"Maybe a Calming Draught, Miss Isolt? Dreamless Sleep Potions don't really work for me."
"Of course, honey. Let's get you to bed. I'm so sorry."
Amy lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Outside, she could hear other students talking on their way to class, laughing. A bird chirped from somewhere outside. She rolled over so that she was facing the wall, watching as her tears fell onto her pillow. Sighing, she leaned over to pick up the Calming Draught from her bedside table. She swirled the blue-ish potion around in the cup, and eventually downed it. She leaned back and drifted into a restless sleep.
Amy was in a dark room. It looked like her parents' bedroom, but smaller. She leaned over to light a candle, but shrieked when the dim light revealed three people in the bed, all corpses and rotting. Her two parents and Alice. Suddenly, a cold descended upon her, and she felt herself being sucked out of the room.
"Welcome, Amy Hawkins," A voice resounded from around her. She was face down on hard rock, seemingly in a cave. She could hear water dripping around her. Struggling, she tried to sit up, but only succeeded in falling back down. She felt something sticky on her left arm, and found two X's carved in above her elbow, bleeding. Confused as to where the cuts came from, she tried to staunch the heavy flow of blood, but a hand on her back stopped her.
"You can't prevent this, Amy. What will happen, will happen," the voice said. She felt herself being lifted and placed on a flat rock, almost like a chair. She looked up to see what had helped her, and saw a man with impossibly dark eyes, the likes of which could not be human. Gazing into them felt like staring into an abyss, ancient and bottomless and capable of swallowing her whole. His face was defined and pale, and he looked somewhere between otherworldly and overly human. He seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, tall, and dark haired.
"Who… who are you?" she choked out. Something was in her mouth. She spat, and discovered more blood.
"You know who I am, Amy. You've met me multiple times before. You need only say what I am to know."
"Death," she responded instantly, the words falling from her mouth before she could stop them, her brain spitting out the answer before she could fully grasp it. Miss Rionach said that she tended to do that often in class.
The man nodded.
"I thought you would've looked, well… deader," she said lamely. She was feeling weak; her head was spinning, her body felt ice cold, and her heart was pounding. The stone next to her was beginning to turn red from the blood gushing from her arm.
The man threw his head back and laughed. "You know, I've never gotten that one before," he said.
"Are you here to take me?" she asked, suddenly nervous.
"No, Amy, you have quite the long life ahead of you. Besides, I do not take people. I am Death's Second Self, that seals up all in rest.* I have come to stay with you for this night," he said, sitting down next to her. "I am deeply sorry for all that you have gone through, Amy. Your path will be painful and spattered in blood, but I will always be here. My other Self has caused you immense suffering."
"Sir, you say you are Death's Second Self, but you are not evil, as is death."
"When Lucifer fell from the stars, he split. He became both of Death's Selves. Death's First Self, my elder brother, has always wanted people. He collects them like possessions, and has no regard for life. He is evil, and represents death. The Immortal One is the ultimate good. He represents life. Some call Him God; others know Him by different names. Then there is me, Death's Second Self. I represent sleep, but am a fraction of Death, and thus trapped in the world of evil. I did not wish to be evil, but I am a part of Lucifer, and therefore can never be good. I have instead made it my goal that I will help people through their dreams, and make sure that there is always a little glimmer of hope or peace or love in their life."
"That's very noble of you, Sir. But may I ask, why have you come to me in person?"
"Little Amy, my elder brother has seemingly made it his goal to cause you more pain than anyone ever before. I have made it my goal to protect you from him. I have come to watch over you, to make sure you know to never give up on the world. Your life will not be easy, but know that I will always be watching over you. And why, you ask, have I come to you in a dream? To let you know all of this, of course."
"Sir, you truly are good," Amy said, touched by his kindness. She was feeling weaker, but didn't want this to end. "How will you be in my life, if I may ask?"
"I cannot say, Amy. But you will know. And soon this night must draw to an end. You are losing blood, but will not die. You will simply return to the world of the living, as sleep is the bridge from life to death. This bridge is my domain, and I say that you must return to life, though you will not remember any of this. I will see you soon, Amy, Mo grá. I will see you soon."
Amy nodded, and felt herself falling backwards. With a flash of light, everything went dark.
"Amy, Mo grá, you must wake up," a voice said above her, shaking her. "You must wake up," Isolt said.
"Yes, Miss Isolt?" Amy said, blinking open her eyes.
"Amy, your sister is going to be hung today. I'm so sorry. Would you like to go?" Isolt asked, sitting down on her bed.
Amy swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yes, Miss Isolt, I should go. She is my sister, after all."
"Very well, I shall bring you there shortly. I'll go make you some food while you get dressed, honey," Isolt said, leaving the room and closing the door.
Amy sighed and put on her No-Maj clothes. She was reaching to put on her necklace when she noticed two X-shaped scars on her upper left arm. She stared at them for a few minutes, trying to place them, but shrugged them off. She went to join Isolt, who had made them some food for the journey. Amy went to saddle up two of the horses, and she and Isolt mounted them after giving them a potion to speed them up.
Three hours later Isolt and Amy arrived at Gallows Hill, where a crowd was starting to form. The crowd was howling for blood and throwing insults at her sister; she saw all manner of people there, from the dregs of society to men in fancy suits and women in beautiful dresses. Amy couldn't believe that these people, who barely knew her lovely sister, wanted her dead for something she couldn't control. It made Amy sick to think about it.
Eventually, Alice was led out by some large, darkly clothed men, and tied up to the gallows. One of the people spoke, but Amy didn't hear him. She didn't want to hear him, nor could she over the constant thundering beat of her heart in her ears. Never once did she look away from her sister.
Alice's and Amy's eyes locked; everything they wanted to say to each other was delivered silently: all the apologies and well wishes of a lifetime's worth of love. After what seemed like an eternity, Alice smiled. She nodded, and the platform fell out from under her.
Amy screamed as her beautiful, kind, loving sister died. She watched as her sister grew still and lifeless, and Isolt wrapped her in a strong hug, holding her close and whispering softly into her ear. Amy heard none of that, though, and as she looked out over the crowd, she saw a familiar looking man float over to the platform. No one else seemed to notice him, though, not even Isolt. The man looked very familiar, and she watched, speechless, as another man rose up from the ground and joined the first next to her dead sister.
Both of the men looked similar, but the first was shorter, and the second was older and crueler looking. They must have been brothers, and they looked to be in an argument. She couldn't hear them, but watched as the first man shook his head violently. After a few more moments of their fight, the elder brother disappeared in a huff. The younger man closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and a bright light shone from where her sister's heart had beat minutes before. A more beautiful version of her sister suddenly appeared, and she took the man's hand.
As Amy watched, shocked, both the man and the spectre of her sister smiled at her and floated up to the sun. Amy blinked and they were gone. She looked back down and saw that same man back on the ground and suddenly, she remembered who he was. She locked eyes with him and told Isolt that she was going to get some water. The older woman nodded, and said she would go get the horses ready. Amy walked over to the man, and he nodded in greeting.
"Amy. Don't worry about her, I have made sure that my elder brother wouldn't get her."
"Thank you so much. Now I know what you meant, but... Sir? I thought the world of the dead was you brother's domain? Why did my sister go up, then?"
"Amy, Mo grá, you have lost so much, and your sister was a beautiful soul who should not stay in that world. I brought her up to the world of life so that her soul will get another chance. Someday, she will come back again, with another chance to have the life she deserves. I made sure of that," he said. "Look at your arm, Amy."
She did, and saw that there was another X-shaped scar above the other two. Three scars, one for everyone she'd lost.
"You'll receive one every time someone you love dies," he said, apologetically.
She shed another tear, but nodded. Her sister was in a better place, and that was what mattered. "Sir, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"What is your name?" Amy asked.
The man smiled. "Call me Oberon."
Six years later…
"Oberon, could you carry Alice? She's getting a bit heavy for me," Amy asked her husband, handing over their two-year-old daughter.
"Sure," he said, trading her the daisies that they'd brought. Eventually, they reached the apple orchard, and found Alice's tombstone, which was a slab of rock Amy had painstakingly carved with her wand, and Oberon had levitated to the grave. Amy laid the flowers down where she knew her sister's heart was.
"I love you, Alice. I hope you're happy up there," Amy said quietly.
Amy's life had not been easy. In fact, it had been a constant struggle. For survival, for peace, for happiness... She missed her sister and her parents everyday. She mourned their passing and felt their loss like a persistent ache in her soul. Oberon's warning had not been inaccurate; her path was indeed long and painful, and she knew that her throes were far from over. But she was not alone and she knew she never would be; she had her husband, her daughter, her sister, her parents, and their presence alone, whether it be on the physical plane or the astral one, would ease any suffering the world could throw at her.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! If you did, please review! I'd love to hear from you!