AUTHOR'S NOTE: AND I AM BACK! 2021 had been a difficult year for me to write, and I am barely crawling in writing stories this year, too. But never fear, I won't abandon my other story, Gate Between Worlds; I am just taking a break - albeit a long one, and I am so sorry for that, my readers - for me to get the feel of the story back. This new story will be a prequel to GBW, a take on the reason why the events in GBW happened, even if the story had not progressed so far (once again, I apologize for the long delay). It's also an excuse for me to share my character, and her love for Talbott Winger. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series) and Jam City (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery). I only come to borrow and play.

TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains content which some readers may find disturbing, including mentions of torture, rape, and execution. Reader discretion is advised.

PROLOGUE

I've had one regret too many.

I gained people.

But I lost them as quickly as I gained them.

They didn't even say goodbye.

And I couldn't ask them to stay, even if I tried.

Yet, you stayed, out of many reasons why you shouldn't.

In the end, I lost you, too.

And I couldn't even say a proper farewell.

I've had one regret too many.

Too many, I lost count.

Forgive me, for losing the fight, the will, the drive.

I am beyond exhausted, and my days are inevitably short.

All I can do is wait, like a prisoner awaiting execution, dying at the hands of a fool.

Forgive me, again, for losing grace.

The Gods only know I just longed to see you again.

On the stand where she was about to be executed, Autumn van Büren waited for her life to flash right before her very eyes, just like what she read from books, and heard from countless people.

But her past did not spool out before her, nor did a replay of the significant moments of her life even appeared.

It was just… nothing.

Just staring into the deep, empty space, mindful enough to not look into the jeering faces of the crowd of Death Eaters. She could see why; her death might have been the most awaited death. After all, she was the last member of the Light – the Order of the Phoenix – the last obstacle in truly attaining the goal of the Dark Lord.

They had lost during the Second Wizarding War when Harry Potter died, and those who were not killed on the battlefield were taken as prisoners of war – a beautified term for their twisted entertainment. Autumn had seen what the Death Eaters had been doing to her fellow prisoners, and she also suffered the horrors she witnessed, but not before she fought. She fought and fought harder.

But the punishment always came back tenfold.

She then learned that fighting them would lead to even more suffering. So, she did not fight back. She stayed still and let them have their way with her, whatever it was they want to do to her. She blinked away tears that threatened to drop and bit her lip until it bled.

The only thing she was ever proud of was that she never let them have the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Not even when they started cutting her flesh, not even when they cut off her tongue, not even when it hurt.

Every week, people she knew and fought with started dying. Since then, Autumn started counting days – waiting for her turn and for Death to come knocking on her front door. Days turned to weeks, then bled into months until eight months later, she was the only one left alive, the others succumbed to the daily horrors they went through.

"Any last words, Autumn van Büren?"

Hissed words brought her back to the present – her standing on the stage with her hands and feet bound, and a tattered clothing that did not cover much. She met the ruby-red eyes of the mad man sitting not too far away from where she stood, the man who left death and destruction on his wake.

The man whose eyes reminded her of a similar pair which belonged to a different owner, whom her heart and soul ached for.

The very same man who killed her lover, the owner of the piercing reddish-brown eyes she adored, right in front of her.

Rage and deep resentment bubbled deep within her chest, and without a moment's hesitation, she spat on the ground close to the hem of his robe. His wicked smile fell, and Autumn felt slight satisfaction surged through her before a woman on his side screeched, "Crucio!" and her body contorted unnaturally, pain shooting at every part as her eyes clenched tightly shut, and mouth opened in a silent scream.

Even in this state, she dared not to let a single sound out. She would not – could not – let them have a small victory.

It was only for a few minutes, but it felt like an hour of agony. Gasping for breath, a memory she had hidden and locked in the depths of her mind suddenly surfaced and flashed before her as she lay on the wooden stage, feeling painful tremors in every part of her body from the damned Cruciatus, courtesy of the mad man's bitch.

They were by the lake in her family's estate, a day after they left Hogwarts following their graduation. They were laying under the shade of the oak tree where they used to play as children, just enjoying each other's presence in comfortable silence as they basked in the warmth of the sun on a summer morning.

Autumn fiddled with her companion's hand, earning a curious glance. "Talbott," she started, casting her eyes away from the sky. "Do you believe in another world – a universe, rather – where another copy of ourselves lives in?"

The young man – Talbott – pondered on the question for a moment before humming in agreement. "Maybe I do. I think it's a possibility, as there are many mysteries our world still hasn't solved." He shifted to his side to face her, "Why the question?"

She also shifted to her side, now face-to-face with her lover. "I just had a dream, is all," she shrugged, "There are plenty of doors leading to very different realities. I chose the closest door to me, and when I came to, it wasn't that different from the life I've lived here.

"But we lived in different circumstances," she smiled at the young man wryly, "We never met as children; we met much, much later, asking for your help to become an Animagus myself. In that dream, I've never even knew of your existence.

"And it felt real," she murmured, once again fiddling with her lover's hand. "I forgot my memories of you, and you were so different, and it scares me, Talbott. You were so unhappy in that reality, and I never wanted any of that for you."

Talbott squeezed her hand in comfort. "It was only a dream," he reassured her, "Just a dream, Autumn. None of that happened, and I'm here – happy, content, with you."

"I know," she agreed, nodding, before she shot him a sly grin, "I know because only your words would set a woman's heart aflutter."

The young man chuckled. "I was being serious, you know. But even if there is a slight possibility of many other worlds out there," he paused as he tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear, "I only know of two things."

The young woman raised an elegant eyebrow. "Oh? What – pray tell – is it, Mr. Winger?" she asked as she easily snaked her arms around her lover's neck, "Will it be, 'in another universe, it will always be you and I?' It would be poetic, just like you."

Talbott hummed as he moved, his arms on either side of Autumn, hovering just above her. "Not quite right, Miss van Büren," he teased before softly capturing her lips with his. He pulled away shortly, resting his forehead against hers. "But not completely wrong, either. You see, in whichever world it might be, I'll be with you.

"And," he continued, bringing her hand to his lips, his piercing reddish-brown eyes never straying away from hers as if sealing a promise. "I'll love you in each and every one of them – always."

Autumn – the present, almost-dying Autumn – allowed a single tear for her most cherished memory of her time with her lover, which she unconsciously retrieved from the back of her mind while on the verge of a slow, painful death.

Maybe it was a blessing, a final farewell, or a closure of some sort. After all, she never properly bid him goodbye. And she would not want her last memory of him to be on the bloody battlefield where he fell.

"Don't fight it anymore, you filthy blood traitor whore," a woman's figure loomed over her, wild dark hair and crazed eyes on a weathered face. The mad bitch – just like her mad man of a master – was never one to be ignored. Autumn could have laughed if she could; the mere thought of dying at the hands of Bellatrix was hilarious.

If she were up to it, she could have chosen someone else to kill her.

I couldn't blame her, she mused in her pain-addled mind, If I were her, I'd also want to kill the woman whom my master had been obsessing over, just to see her break. Not that he'd been successful.

The dark witch grabbed a fistful of her hair and painfully yanked her head close to her face. "You must be thinking you're so special, having your legs spread wide for the Dark Lord when he fucked you countless times," she snarled, darkened eyes raging with murderous jealousy. "You should have done what he ordered you to, and maybe he could have spared your life. But your disgusting honor and pride was so important to you that maybe I should have killed you on the battlefield, right next to your half-blood lover.

"But now," she said with a sudden wicked glint in her eyes as she licked her lips, "With that little stunt you did in front of my Lord, he gave me the satisfaction of killing you myself. He loves me, not you."

Bellatrix let her go and pointed her gnarled wand down at her, "And this ends now."

Autumn moved an inch, until the tip of the dark witch's wand touched her forehead. She held her head high, smug defiance clearly written on her face. Bellatrix may feel triumph over her death by her own hands, but her envy would gnaw at her until the very end, until her master dispose of her, too.

She would have the last laugh.

Now, she wanted to rest her weary bones. She saw the dark witch mouthing the spell, and the forming of the green flash at the tip of the gnarled wand – only realizing that the color was dangerously beautiful. She could welcome Death with open arms now.

Guide me, oh Gods, to where my Talbott rests.

"Avada Kedavra!"

And then, there was nothing.

ANOTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE: In Autumn's line, "In another universe, it will always be you and I," is a take from what Elliot Stabler originally said in an episode from Law & Order: Organized Crime. I believed that it was supposed to be 'parallel universe', instead of 'another'.

Please let me know what you guys think! I appreciate reviews and welcome criticisms. :)