Prologue
She had never felt so unsettled.
Casting an uneasy glance over her shoulder, the young witch held up her illuminated wand tip. In the back of her mind, Lex knew it was silly to be so disconcerted by the antics of a simple rogue hag. After all, she was in possession of much stronger magic and a brighter mind, yet there was something oddly haunting about the loud cackles that echoed through the mirror house of an abandoned carnival.
Lex tried to ignore the mirrors surrounding her, but it was hard when it felt as though her own reflections were mocking her for her weakness. Why don't you just kill the hag and be done with it? No. She was not being paid for that. It was simply a matter of retrieval; catch the hag and bring it in for questioning. No death. No murder.
She would not be responsible for another.
A sudden movement at the edge of her vision had Lex turning and bolting through a dark passageway to her right, ignoring the way her own footsteps blended in with the racketing malicious laughter.
Lumos was not a strong charm; she could only keep the back of the figure in her vision as she followed it through the twists and turns of the eerie building. Beginning to tire of the chase, Lex was contemplating the sacrifice of her light for a stunning spell when the figure came to a sudden halt.
Wasting no time, Lex screamed "petrificus totalus" at the hag straightened up, stiff as a board and collapsed onto its back as the spell hit it. Lex sighed in relief and started forward to apparate them both back to the base where she could finally relax, but stopped when she realised something.
The cackling had not stopped.
In fact, it was simply getting louder. Lex looked down towards the hag and saw its gnarled features twisted into a gruesome mockery of a smile as laughter continued to pour from its mouth. Murky tears built up in the crevices of its crusted eyes as the hag desperately gasped for air.
"You'll never find him."
In an instant, Lex had her wand to the hag's throat. "Never find who?"
The hag merely grinned maliciously. The action drew Lex's attention to a patch of dried blood smeared on its wart-infested cheek.
Swallowing the bile that had begun rising in her throat at the sight, Lex violently shook the hag. "Never find who?" She questioned again, loudly.
"Revenge will trip you up, girly. You'll get yours." The hag sneered. "A new dawn arises, and there won't be no room for your kind, hunter."
It spat in Lex's face.
Retching at the rotten stench of its saliva, she forcefully grabbed the stringy hair patched on its head and shouted, "Tell me what you're talking about!"
The hag coughed and sputtered before letting out a rasping chuckle. "I ain't telling you nothing,"
Lex rolled her eyes; she was not getting paid enough for this. Hoisting up the hag, she prepared herself for apparition. However, before she could so much as turn, the hag's cackles subsided into pitiful whimpers. Startled, Lex rested its bound body on the mirror behind it as she cautiously glanced around the room, wand out. Meanwhile, the whimpering was getting louder and more desperate.
Lex whipped around to face the hag and was surprised to see the terrified expression distorting its horrid features.
"What's happening?" She questioned, gripping her wand tightly.
"No…please, no…I'm sorry…please, don't…"
A slight sizzling noise brought Lex closer to the crying hag. Examining its face, she jumped back in horror once she realised what was happening.
The hag's whimpering ascended into screams.
"STOP! PLEASE, STOP! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! HAVE MERCY ON ME!" It shrieked.
The smell of burning flesh filled Lex's nose.
Lex was horrified at was happening in front of her. Jumping into action, she quickly dispatched a patronus to base and, pointing her wand at the hag's burning skin, yelled "aguamenti", watching as a strong jet of water poured onto its flesh. She exhaled in relief when the searing noise stopped, but felt her heart jump in revulsion when it started up again at double the speed.
Lex continued to shoot jets of water from her wand, but could only watch in disgust as the hag was burned alive right in front of her. She felt sick as she listened to the terrified screams and slowly backed away, her breath coming in short bursts as the disturbing scene unfurled.
A few moments later, the screams stopped. When she saw what was left of the hag, Lex could not swallow the bile that had risen in her throat.
As her back up arrived a few minutes later, Lex knew one thing: the hag was only a pawn. Something much bigger was coming, and she didn't want to be caught in the crossfire when it did.
A/N: Disclaimer - Harry Potter of course belongs to J.K. Rowling!
Okay so I know I'm still writing Historically Accurate, but I couldn't resist starting this story! I'm not sure how I feel about this start so I may change it. Anyway, this story is going to be pretty dark and will be a Lily Potter II/Lex Woodman (my OC).
I'd love to hear your thoughts on it so far, and I'll still definitely be focusing on Historically Accurate but this story will hopefully help with my writer's blocks! :)
For a reference, I envision Keke Palmer as Lex Woodman and Daria Sidorchuck as Lily Potter (when she makes an appearance)
It's going to be fairly violent, though I'm going to try to not make anything too graphic! Hopefully the hag burning wasn't too bad; though please tell me if it was!