A/N
Hey guys! This is another one-shot I wrote based off of the Hogwarts Mystery app. THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT, so enter at your own risk...you have been warned. Spoilers in...
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I have been grieving over the loss of our beloved friend, Rowan. I wanted to write this fic to give myself some closure. It broke my heart, and I hope it breaks yours too...in a good way? Anyways, this is my outlet for grieving. I plan on writing maybe 1 or 2 more chapters to this. We will see how the game plays out.
Portions of this one-shot are borrowed directly from the game, which I do not own. With that said, enjoy!
Year 6: Rowan's Death
Arah looked up at the night sky. The crescent moon shined brightly, pale light piercing through the dark canopy of the Forest painting the ground with an iridescent glow. Closing her eyes, she sighs, disappointment heavy on her shoulders. Jacob was supposed to be here. They were supposed to intercept her brother's meeting with 'R', yet there was no sign he had even been here. All she wanted was to see him, even if it was just a glimpse. At least enough to know that he was okay.
Maybe she read the black quill message wrong? There was no sign that anyone had even been here. A prickling feeling crawled down the back of her neck... could this all be a setup? Could it be the escaped wizard's attempt to catch her off guard?
"Ow! Copper, watch where you step!" Merula hissed.
"You watch where you step!" Ben bit back.
"Will you two please stop bickering?" Arah sighed. "And keep it down. Someone could be out here..."
Nervously, she scans the darkness of the trees as Merula murmurs something about how she had liked Ben better as a coward.
The lack of light begins to play tricks on Arah's eyes- the shadows swirl in her vision, trees seemed to eerily move on their own, and darknesses fleeted in the corner of her eyes. That's when she saw it. A glint of silver reflecting the pale moon.
"Ben, Merula. I found something." Arah whispered intently, approaching the shining object. Kneeling down, Arah could see a small necklace peeking from under the thicket. Her eyes transfixed on the beautiful jewel- completely taken by the beauty of it.
"Don't touch that! It's cursed." Merula demanded. Arah blinks, as she stares at her own fingers hovering inches away from the necklace. Confused- she jerks her hand away, snapping out of the strange trance.
"What are you talking about, Merula?" Ben walked over to the two of them- surveying the strange amulet.
"That necklace is one of Rakepick's dark artefacts." Merula said sternly.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure of it. She showed it to me herself once." Merula said, mouth pressed in a thin line "Your welcome to touch it and see what happens if you don't believe me." she challenged, rolling her eyes.
"We believe you," Ben smirked. "but how did it get here?" His eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought.
"Dumbledore told me he had Rakepick's Dark artifacts stored at the Ministry. Does that mean she found a way to steal them back?" Worry sunk to the pit of Arah's stomach like a stone. If that were true- they were in big trouble. The thought of Rakepick having those artifacts back was enough to send a chill down her spine... or it was just the bitter cold getting to her. It felt as if her bones were made of ice. It was unbearable.
"Why is it suddenly so bloody freezing?" Merula shivered, wrapping her arms around herself tightly, clenching her teeth to stop from chattering.
Their breaths floated in wispy clouds before them. They look at one another, confusion settling like the frost that began to cover the foliage around them. Leaves slowly turn white, roots covered in frost. The cold pierced Arah's heart, filling her with unbelievable sorrow. A feeling she had felt before...
Suddenly, a black shadowy figure lurks from behind a dead tree, floating eerily towards them. The rattling sound of a wheeze escapes the cloaked figure. It was the sound of death.
Dementors.
"Run!" Arah demanded.
The three of them took off, running towards the direction they had come from- but another Dementor blocked their path. They turn to run through another opening but a cloaked figure sinks before them...then another...and another until there were so many, Arah couldn't count. Hopelessness began to swallow Arah, her mind clouded with dread. There was no way out.
"They're surrounding us!" Ben shouted, gripping his wand tightly.
"There are so many..." Merula panted breathlessly, eyes wide with fear.
"Flipendo!" Ben flicks his wand- but the spell has no effect. The Dementors close in - anguish suffocating them.
"Merula! Conjure your patronus with me!" Arah ordered, concentrating on the happiest memory she could. "Expecto Patronum!"
A white whispy specter of a hawk shoots out from the end of her wand, wings spread wide, shielding the three of them from a Dementor. Warmth radiates off the bright Patronus- driving several away.
"Expecto patronum!" Merula screams, a white veil shoots from her wand- causing another Dementor to shriek, fleeing from the bright light. But it was no use. More and more arrive, taking its place.
Arah calls her Patronus again, but it quickly dissipates- consumed by the dark swarm of Dementors that surround them.
"It's no good! My patronus isn't powerful enough to banish them all." Arah pants, panic settling into her chest.
"When you drive one back, another just fills it's place" Ben's voice shakes. It was the first time in a long time Arah could hear the fear in his voice.
"What do we do?" Merula trembles.
The sound of screams ring in Arah's ears. It was a sound she had heard before and never would forget. She shutters, going pale at the memory. It was the sound she had heard when her Mum believed Jacob to be dead- when Arah had come to the realization that she would likely never see her brother again. Arah collapsed on her knees, covering her ears tightly- trying to smother the wails of her Mother's cries. Closing her eyes tightly, she tries to think of her happy memory- but it was gone...choked by the thorns of grief and despair.
"Expecto Patronum!" A mysterious voice rang from the darkness.
The three of them look around wildly as the figure of a silvery lioness barrels through the dark sea of Dementors. A bright light emanates from the specter- blinding the three of them as they shield their eyes from the radiant glow.
As the light diminished, Arah's eyes adjust to the darkness- seeing that the Dementors had all disappeared. Arah scans the forest, searching for the mysterious caster who had conjured such a powerful patronus. A firey-haired woman walks into the pale moonlight, wand fixed towards the three of them.
Rakepick.
"YOU!" Merula roars, racing towards her - firing a spell. Rakepick dodges the spell effortlessly, rebounding the spell back to Merula causing her to fly backward, violently tumbling through the air. Merula hits a tree with a loud thud, her wand dropping to the ground.
"Merula!" Arah screams.
A slightly amused smirk shadows Rakepick's face as Merula falls to her side- gripping her shoulder in pain as she attempts to crawl towards her wand.
"I will ...get my revenge..." Merula growled through bloody teeth.
"Revenge?" Rakepick scoffed. With a small flick of her wand, roots sprout from the ground, entangling Merula. "Miss Snyde, you're in such a hurry to die, but the truth is, you aren't even worth killing" She sneered.
Merula exploded with anger, writhing to try and free herself from the roots.
"If you just want us dead, why bother saving us?" Arah challenged, wand trained towards the teacher she had once looked up to. Betrayal stung, it cut deep. Anger pumped red hot through her veins as she recalled Merlua's guttural screams while Rakepick tortured her. How Rakepick had left them to die in that vault. How she was the reason her brother went missing all these years. Arah gripped her wand tightly, knuckles glowing white with rage.
"I wasn't about to let the dementors finish you off, Miss Annon. I want the pleasure of killing you myself" Rakepick smiled darkly. With a sneer- red embers erupt from her wand, spiraling towards Arah.
Protego.
There was a ripple in the air as the spell slammed into her shield, but it was too powerful. The force of the spell knocked her backward to the ground. Arah's side slams into a rock, she could feel the warm liquid trickle down the side of her forehead. Clenching her jaw, she raises her wand towards Rakepick.
Stupefy!
Rakepick moved like fluid, dodging the spell with ease. The look of boredom apparent on her face...like she was disappointed Arah wasn't putting up a better fight. Snarling, Arah crawled to her knees, waving her wand fiercely.
Lacarnum Inflamari!
A fiery blast shoots towards Rakepick, but she simply steps to the side- flames erupting against the bark of a tree behind her.
"Everte Statum!" Rakepick mumbles- a violet ray hits Arah in the chest as she skids across the ground- a sharp pain erupting in her lungs. The pain blurs her edge of consciousness, every breath like shards of glass tearing her open from the inside out.
"It's time to finish what I started in the buried vault. This is the end for you, 'Curse-Breaker." Rakepick spit as she aimed her wand towards her. Shakily, Arah lifts her wand arm, vision blurring in and out of focus. She accepted the reality that she would not be able to fight Rakepick off- not in the state she was in. But she couldn't lie there and do nothing- not while her friends were still in danger. Maybe she could cause a distraction, at least enough to give Ben and Merula time to escape.
"Flipendo Maxima!" Ben bellowed.
Rakepick seemed to be taken by surprise as she quickly dodged his spell, barely evading the blast. In one swift movement, Rakepick fires back at Ben- who quickly eludes the hex. Rakepick grinned with eyebrows raised, impressed by the skilled young wizard.
"Well, well. Looks like Copper has grown some courage." Rakepick taunted.
Gritting his teeth, Ben propels another attack, hitting Rakepick hard in the side. She stumbles back, gasping as she grips her ribs, the look of shock apparent on her face. Rakepick had let her guard down by a 16-year-old boy. A boy that had once been a coward. Her face twists into a sickly grin, laughing darkly.
"I won't let you hurt anyone I care about anymore!" Ben commanded, wand trained on his old professor.
"Well done, Copper. You've learned to talk like a real Gryffindor. But can you back that talk up?" Rakepick challenged smugly.
With a wicked smirk, she discharges another curse at him. The spell moved so quickly Ben didn't even have the chance to avoid it before hitting him square in the stomach- causing him to fly into the air landing on his back with a thud.
"Ben..." Merula rasped.
Roaring through the pain, Ben lifts himself back up- flicking his wand quickly, hitting Rakepick again. A large cut bore into her arm, crimson began to bleed through the fabric, soaking her sleeve with a coppery hue. This time, she wasn't laughing. Anger shadows every feature in her face as she scowls in pain.
The two begin to duel back and forth- Arah could feel the heat radiating on her cheeks as the flashes of curses and spells are fired back and forth between the two. The look of concentration evident on each of their faces. Sweat glistened on Ben's forehead as he dodges another spell before firing immediately back. With a loud crack, Ben collapses to his hands and knees- gasping for breath.
"Hang on Ben... I'll help you." Arah groaned, struggling to lift her wand- ignoring the shooting pain that fills her lungs like ice.
"No! I'll handle Rakepick." Ben orders, shakily standing back up on his feet- blood dripping from his nose.
"You can 'handle' me, can you? We'll see about that." Rakepick scowled. "Confringo!"
With a fiery blast, Ben flies back violently. His robes smoke and singed with dying embers as it reveals a scorched arm, grotesque with burns. Quivering, Ben lifts himself up from the floor. With a trembling hand, he lifts his wand back towards Rakepick.
"Copper... run!" Merula groans, trying to free herself from the vines.
"No! I'm tired of running. NO MORE!" Ben's nostrils flare - blood smeared down his face.
Arah watches in horror as Ben continues to duel, repelling spell after spell that Rakepick throws at him. Even injured, Ben continued to battle as if his life depended on it. That's when it hit Arah. His life did depend on it. The malevolent look was unmistakable in Rakepicks eyes...this witch would stop at nothing. Even if it meant taking a young wizard's life. Arah's heart raced as Ben hit Rakepick again, the spell causing her knee to buckle.
"That'll teach you a lesson." Ben wheezed, wiping his blood on his good sleeve.
"Take this lesson to the grave." Rakepick threatened, glaring through her curtain of red oily hair. "Avada Kedavra!"
It was as if the world had stopped. Everything suddenly moved in slow motion. The green light shooting from the end of Rakepicks wand- rushing towards Ben. The blur of movement from the trees as a familiar brown-faced girl appeared from the shadows. The confusion Arah felt to see her best friend, Rowan, running through the trees towards Ben. Their eyes met briefly, Rowan giving her a reassuring look before shoving Ben out of the way. The terror paralyzed Arah as she saw the green light pierce through Rowan's heart. Her body jerked violently through the air- tumbling to the ground with a sickening thud. The way her head lolled to the side, life vanishing from her eyes, leaving her with a ghostly stare. The look of fear permanently etched into her face.
"ROWAN!" She heard herself scream. Her body moved on its own, crawling towards her best friend's lifeless form.
"NO!" Ben yelps- eyes wide with shock.
"Khanna..." Merula stares blankly at the girl who lie motionless before her. A girl she had learned to call her friend.
"I warned you that you owed 'R' a friend's life. Consider that debt collected." Rakepick said thinly, tucking her wand in her robe.
"You...I'LL KILL YOU!" Merula shrieked, freeing herself from the roots and grabbing her wand.
With a sigh, Rakepick shook her head pathetically- before apparating. A loud crack echoes through the forest leaving them in a deafening silence.
"No...no. Rowan, get up. Please. GET UP!" She shook Rowan's limp body as if attempting to wake her for breakfast as she did every morning. Rowan remains still, except for a single tear that rolls down her colorless cheek.
"No..." Ben whispered to himself, dropping to his knees next to Arah.
"Arah, stop. She's not breathing." Merula knelt next to her, laying a hand on Arah's trembling shoulder as she tries to shake her again.
"No, no... There's got to be some spell... There has to be something we can do!" Arah choked, cupping her hand over her mouth as she stifled back a cry. "This can't be...Rowan can't be dead."
"The Killing Curse...There's no coming back." Merula whispered gently.
"Maybe...maybe someone can save her. SOMEBODY! HELP!" Arah screamed, voice horse with emotion. "PLEASE!"
"Rowan...she's gone." Ben said, as if waking from a dream.
Arah felt as if her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Collapsing on top of Rowan's still chest, Arah wailed, clenching fist's full of her friend's robes. Tears soak the fabric as she sobbed- grief wracking her body as she buried deeper into Rowan's lifeless embrace. Death never seemed so inviting. It should have been her. Arah should be the one lying here, not Rowan. This was all her fault. Rowan would be alive if not for her. Two hands lie on her shoulders as she heaved. The sound of her muffled cries drowns out the sniffles from behind her.
The ghostly cries she had heard from her Mum now escaped her own lips as she mourned over the loss of her best friend. Rowan. She understood now, how her Mum had felt. Like a part of her was missing. Ripped away from this world - the precious life of her best friend. Why her? Why Rowan...
A/N
Ugh. So heart-wrenching. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! For those of you who don't play Hogwarts Mystery, I encourage you to download the app and give it a play :)