The Callused Butterfly
By Artichokie
Dusk fell over little Aberystwyth, Wales. A girl not over the age of fifteen sat outside of her family's kitchen. Her dark blonde hair hung loosely from the light blue ribbon tied in it. The ribbon matched her soft cotton dress that fluffed out around her pelvis. The dress was different hues of blues, but consisted of relaxing colours to the eyes. It reached her mid-calf and then ended with lace. Her face was an ivory-pale colour with rosy cheeks. This young, vivacious girl was none other than Helga Hufflepuff.
She sat on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest. The kitchen door stood slightly ajar, flooding candlelight from the dimming room into her peering eyes. Inside the room her parents talked in whispers at an urgent rate. Her mother sat next to her husband in a chair at the table. The man stood, leaning against the small, wooden table. On top of the table sat a candle aflame, casting many shadows on the wooden walls.
Eadleofu Hufflepuff, Helga's mother, had vibrant blue eyes to match Helga's. However, Eadleofu had dark auburn hair that curled down her back. She had given her daughter the perfect bone structure and the beautiful pale skin.
Leofwine Hufflepuff, Helga's father, had the same dark blonde hair as she had. His body had a nice muscle build from working on the grounds all day, but his cloths were rather raggedy. He worked as a Blacksmith in the town's central square when he wasn't working in the fields.
"How could you have let this happen? You know what will come of this, Leofwine," Eadleofu Hufflepuff urgently whispered at her husband.
"It was an accident, Eadleofu. I didn't know some Muggle would spot me on my own ground," Leofwine Hufflepuff hissed back.
"You know what's going to happen now, don't you?"
"Yes, and I'm willing to accept the consequence of my, apparently, foolish action."
"You never cease to amaze me, Leofwine. How can you just accept things?"
"It's just a matter of knowing what you did was right or not, and I was doing nothing wrong at the time."
"Yes, I know. I just can't bear to lose you," Eadleofu reached up from her sitting position and wrapped her arms around her husband's neck. "I don't want to face it."
"You'll never be without me, I can promise you that. Whether I get what I don't deserve or do, I will always be with you."
"You sound so sure of yourself . . . how come?"
"Because I have faith in all that is good and know that everything shall be all right." He gave his wife a small kiss on the forehead and embraced her tightly. Letting go of his wife, he stated, "It's getting late, maybe we should rest up." Eadleofu nodded.
Helga gasped at the sound of her parents' words. Knowing that they would be exiting through the door she was currently sitting in front of worried her. They never did appreciate her listening to their conversations.
She pushed herself up and began to run to her room. She slipped on the sand-covered ground as she turned the corner that lead to a line of stairs. She knew she would make a load of noise running up them, so she slowed down a bit at the top.
She casually slipped into her room and shut the door quietly as she heard her parents' voices at the bottom of the stairs. She then flopped down on her rod-iron bed and stared at the ceiling.
A small knock came at her door a few seconds later. Not waiting for a response, Eadleofu pushed Helga's bedroom door opened, carrying an off-white sleeping gown.
"Hello, dear," Eadleofu said sweetly as she pushed the door shut.
"Good afternoon, mother. How's father?" Helga said as she sat up.
"Shouldn't you already know that?" Eadleofu took a seat on Helga's bed next to the young girl.
"How do you mean?"
"Weren't you just sitting outside the kitchen door listening to our every word?" Eadleofu accused, giving her daughter an amused expression.
"Why on earth would you suspect a thing of that multitude?" Helga said half giggling.
"Only because you've done it every other time," Eadleofu ran a finger through her daughter's hair and rested the strand on Helga's shoulder. "How was your day, darling?"
"Oh, quite splendid, thanks, Aine has been teaching me so much," Helga sighed with glee.
"Well, that's wonderful, I'm glad you're having fun."
"Very much so . . . mum, what's going to happen to father?"
Eadleofu sighed, "I knew you were listening. Helga, don't worry about your father. He'll be fine. You just get into your sleeping gown and dream of purple lilies on a hill of green grass." Eadleofu laid the off-white gown on Helga's lap and stood. As she reached for the door handle, she paused and glanced at her daughter. "It'll all be sorted out in the morn' and everything will be back to normal."
Helga nodded, but something in the pit of her stomach kept her from fully believing her mother. It was a small simmer of unease. Something did not feel right about the air around her.
"I love you, you know that?" Eadleofu cooed as she opened Helga's door.
Helga nodded, "Very much so, and I you."
Eadleofu slipped out of her daughter's room and poked her head into the crack between the door and the frame. "Don't forget to put out your candle, dear."
Helga nodded. Once the door was completely shut and she heard the receding footsteps of her dear mother, Helga let out a huge sigh. She felt as though tomorrow the sun would not shine through a thick blanket of clouds. She could feel the darkness beginning to submerge her small head.
The next morning, Helga woke with a jolt. Something had jerked her from her peaceful slumber. That something happened to be the scream of her mother's precious voice. Helga sat up in bed, recollecting her breath, when a second scream escaped her mother's mouth. She jumped once realizing what she was hearing and bolted out of her room.
There was no sign of anyone on the second floor. A single satin sheet laid sprawled out in the hallway in front of the entrance to her parents' bedroom. Helga then turned to the stairs and slowly descended.
Reaching the bottom step, Helga peered around the corner and saw a sight she would never forget. Her father was being dragged out of the house by his feet, his bare stomach on the ground. His hands were chained together behind his back and his mouth was gagged.
Walking behind Helga's father was a lawman carrying two wands. He had a sword strapped to his hip and walked with dignity and pride. He examined the two wands and wore a smirk of some sort. Gathering up all of her strength, Helga came out from behind the corner and charged at the man.
She didn't make it more than two steps before she was pushed into a shadow corner. A hand clasped over her mouth as she attempted to scream. A familiar scent of ginger and cinnamon met her nose as she recognized the person who held her still.
An oriental woman who was wearing a black hooded cloak pushed Helga into the wall. Helga gasped and gazed into the woman's brown eyes. Her eyes sent a comforting, yet worrisome, feeling into Helga's body, but she knew she could trust the woman. Once the shock was over, the woman removed her hand.
The front door slammed shut and a click could be heard. They were locked inside the house. Horse hooves beating against cobble-stoned streets were heard not a mere few seconds later. Once the sound dissipated, Helga began.
"Aine, what's going on?" Helga asked quietly.
"Your mother and father have been taken. I don't know where. I believe your father had something to do with it," Aine said hurriedly.
"Why didn't they take me along with them?"
"The only reason you're still here is simply because your mother told them you did not exist. If they would have known you were magical, you'd be there with your mother and father," Aine hugged Helga. "Thank heavens you are not. The only thing your mother wanted for you was for you to grow up happy and live a long life."
"So . . . so they're going to . . . what, be hung?" Helga asked with confusion. Aine nodded sadly, not speaking a word. "What? Why? What did they do to deserve such a fate?"
"Nothing by your or my standards, but you know how the Muggles are. They're fearsome of anything dealing with magic and would do anything to rid the world of us."
"When's their hanging time?" Helga asked, placing her hands upon Aine's shoulders.
"I'm not sure. Don't worry about it, Helga. I'm sure they won't be hung–"
"Tell me, I know you know!"
"When the sun meets the middle of the sky," Aine said hurriedly.
"Thank you," Helga said as she pushed past Aine and ran back up to her room. She didn't bother to change out of her sleeping attire. She rummaged through a drawer and found her prized possession: her magical wand. She picked it up and held it up to her face, examining it's every indent.
Grinning, she raced back downstairs and ran to the front door. There sat her leather shoes her father had made in his spare time. Aside being a blacksmith, he was also very crafty with leather. She slipped them on her skinny feet and ran for the back door. Before Helga could reach the door, Aine had pulled on her arm and held her back.
"Here," Aine said urgently as she tore off her black cloak. "Wear this and don't let them see your face. Don't produce any magic of any sort and don't allow them to see your wand. Don't let anyone know that you're a witch or else it could be the end for you."
"What about you? Won't you need something to hide behind?" Helga asked as Aine shoved her cloak onto her shoulders.
"Just put it on and take care of yourself. You're more important than me right now."
"Thank you, Aine, you've been more than a teacher to me and I'll never forget you," Helga said as she realized what was going to happen.
Aine hugged little Helga and held her tight for several minutes. Tears of pain were brought to Helga's normally vibrant bright blue eyes. She hugged Aine back and rested her chin on her shoulder. When they broke apart, Aine wiped away several tears and gave Helga a weak smile.
"Good luck, Helga Hufflepuff," Aine said before pushing Helga out the door.
Helga pushed the cloak completely over her self and clasped the buckle in front of her neck. She tucked the hood over her head and ran across the fields behind her house. She wasn't exactly sure where the hangings took place, but she knew they were in the town square. Her father would come home on some nights and complain about the idiocy Muggles contained. Usually a fellow witch or wizard was hung on those occasions.
The town's square was quite a ways from the Hufflepuff cottage, especially by foot. Helga followed the cobble-stoned road past every turn and curve until she reached a street lined with many shops. The bakery was the first shop on the street.
Helga slowly made her way into the square, making sure her wand and face were hidden. Helga had tucked her wand into her sleeve and held it slightly with her hand. She pulled the hood of the cloak higher over her head and looked around the square.
Shops of every sort lined the streets. Horse-drawn carriages full of many people rode passed Helga without ever really noticing her. Many of the shop owners, however, did notice her and gave her bemused glances as she passed. No one could recognize her; she knew it, for she had never been in the square.
Being around her fellow towns' people was a new experience for young Helga. She had been secluded from the other Muggles and for good reason. Her father mingled with the sort and look where it got him and her mother. They could do nothing about their depressing state.
"Hear ye, hear ye," a man bellowed from a platform in the middle of the market. Some people had begun to crowd around them, most looking excited for the unexpected event. Helga knew hangings were appreciated; anything that does away with the evil in this world was worth a celebration. This one wasn't, not to Helga.
Behind the man, Helga saw her parents. She saw the rope, knew what was going to happen. It didn't make it any easier.
Helga made her way to the platform. Everyone else did the same, pushing to get as close as possible. Helga didn't get extremely close, but wandered about the edge of the crowd.
She walked around the crowd, her eyes glued on her parents. Neither was making eye contact with anyone in the crowd. Both of their faces were staring directly at the heavens. Helga heard a voice mumble, "Ouch" as she came into contact with another person.
Helga fell backwards and her hood came off her head. Her wand almost slipped out, but she managed to save that. She looked to where she used to stand. A small boy with dark brown hair sat on the ground looking just as startled as Helga. She recognized the boy and stood up.
She helped the boy up and then readjusted her cloak. The boy stepped closed to Helga and tapped her. Helga glanced at him and turned back to her parents.
"What do you want, Zachariah?" Helga hissed from the corner of her mouth.
"I'm sorry about your parents. I don't know how you mustered the strength to show up at their execution," he murmured back.
Zachariah was a friend of the family's. He and Helga never rightly got along swell, but they managed to have a good moment now and then. She never considered him a friend and probably never would, but really had no choice. Zachariah was another young wizard and had his mother hung the other month.
"I know I wouldn't have been able to come. I didn't for my mother's . . . you know."
Helga nodded. "How are you holding up?"
"I beckon thee all forward to witness the hanging of two fearsome outlaws," the man who had first shouted said, beginning his speech.
"We'll never be the same without her. Father's convinced he'll never find a suitable woman," Zachariah said, ignoring the man.
"Death's a major thing," Helga said, gazing at her parents. Their eyes were grave and full of sorrow. Her mother glanced down at the crowd and instantly spotted Helga.
"Leofwine Hufflepuff and Eadleofu Hufflepuff, two we've come to trust dearly, are nothing more than filthy warlocks from Satan himself!" A light murmur echoed through the square. Helga and Zachariah joined in just to seem as though they didn't know. Helga's mother was still watching young Helga intently.
"At least you still have one, though," Helga whispered to Zachariah.
"I've brought you all here to witness the end of two lives before they could produce any harm to any of us Godly folk!" The man held the two wands high in the sky and brought them down swiftly upon his left knee. With a muffled crack, the wands were broken in two. Helga saw her parents flinch as the man began wildly cackling.
"What are you going to do now?" Zachariah asked, dodging Helga's comment.
"Get away from here, as far away as I can."
"Now, to see these two put to a final rest. May you both suffer utmost extremely down in hell," the man hissed. Helga shifted her attention to her parents, her mother's gaze still upon her. Helga could feel her tears weld up inside of her eyes, starting at the pit of her stomach. Her mother's eyes filled up with tears as well.
It was quite a struggle for Helga to not rush up there and save her mother and father. Why she had to show up at their execution and see them die she didn't know. Something told her it was the right thing to do.
The man who had garnered everyone's attention's arm shot up and then swung down. Helga's mother's eyes grew big instantly as she fell about a foot. The rope caught around her neck and her feet began to kick. Helga struggled to hold back her tears, but it proved to be a losing battle.
Her father was taking it like the man he was. He just hung still, not swinging or kicking. He had prepared himself for this. Eadleofu began to scream in agony as she struggled to free her hands, which were tied tightly behind her back.
People began to laugh in the crowd. Oh how Helga wanted to smack them all silly, but knew she could not. She would not stand to see her mother dead; she couldn't bear it. The lump in her throat was already burning her insides and starting to suffocate her.
Helga ran away from the crowd and down a road that exited out of the square. Her mother's agonizing scream echoed within the walls of the square, only to echo even louder inside of Helga's head. She dragged her feet against the cobblestones beneath her and dodged many horse-drawn carriages.
She looked into the Eastern horizon. She hadn't a clue where she'd go, but something was telling her to continue down this long road. Her mother's scream still played inside of her head like taunting music of her past, the past that she must escape.
-Fin-
Please R/R.