Arc II: Part VI
January 15th of 1984:
On Sunday morning, Alexa was seated on the passenger's seat of her father's Trabant with her feet stretched on the dashboard, enjoying the last day he was around before he would drive back to Hamburg. The plan was to drive to the city, more precisely to the clinic where her mother worked. The two weeks of the Christmas holidays had gone fast. She smiled wildly as her fists and head moved following the rhythm of her father's voice, as Mr Acker was singing along with David Bowie on the radio.
After half an hour on the road, they arrived at a residential suburb, an area with beige brick one-story houses and dark gable roofs as far as eyes could reach. Alexa wiped the mist from her window with her sleeve to get a better look at the Christmas decorations, which should have adorned all the house at that time of the year. But, unfortunately, she did not see any, and even though a closer look, it seemed that no lights were lightened inside the houses nor people were inside. That's when she jumped on her seat, as she heard a voice next to her that didn't belong to her father, nor to David Bowie. She turned toward the driver to find the same man she had briefly seen in her previous dream involving that strange Archway and the silver dog, only this time he was wearing her father's clothes.
"No one has lived there for many years, Alexa." The man said, driving, looking at the road.
"It's you...Am I dreaming again?" Alexa asked, leaning on the back of her seat, looking at the road.
"Again?" The man asked, smiling.
"Never mind..." Alexa said, sighting. "You know this place?"
"Your dream, not mine...But I have an idea of what happened to those who used to live here ages ago." The man said.
"Which is?" Alexa asked, exasperated by another enigma.
"Some managed to escape in time; most were captured and met a fate worse than death." The man said calmly.
"Captured by who?" Alexa asked, frowning.
"Do you mind if I answer you with another question instead?" He asked.
"Yes, I do mind, but I know you still do..." Alexa said.
"If we're inside your mind, what makes you think I'm the one with the answers and you're the one with questions?" The man said, smiling.
"You're from somewhere else?" Alexa asked.
"I guess I am." He said, nodding. "Here we are," he said, stopping the car on the roadside.
Alexa pulled down her window and looked outside. They had stopped in front of a house, identical to all the others. She turned back to the driver to find the driver's seat empty, as the man had vanished. Then, a squeaky noise caught her ear. The house's door had opened, and the lamp hanging above started flickering.
She hesitated for a moment before she opened her door and got out of the car. She closed the door, wrapped her scarf around her neck, the walked towards the entrance. Alexa peeked inside and past the frosted glass front door to step into an open hallway with a kitchen on the right and an empty living room on the left. She strolled inside, sifting through the place, watching for the slightest sign of life or danger, while her hand clasped her wand in her coat's pocket.
Her gaze got attracted by a small cupboard gaping door under the stairs as a slight golden glow gleamed inside. She approached it slowly, her wand aimed at it before she carefully opened the door. Then, her eyes found a small golden cup lying on the floor, inside the cupboard. That would be the only object she would have seen inside the house so far. Alexa couched down in front of the goblet, looking at it with her eyes before picking it up, and turning it in her hands.
Looking closely at the goblet, she noticed a badger engraved on it. Alexa touched it with her finger; then, the badger started to morph into something else. The badger's legs merged with its belly, its head flattened, while its neck began to stretch until the badger transformed into a snake. Once the transformation ended, the house suddenly started shaking, as long cracks appeared on the walls on both sides. Alexa dropped the goblet and ran towards the door; only the walls began to close on her, crushing her body and suffocating her until the floor she was standing on disappeared, and she fell into the void.
In her fall, Alexa shouted as loud as she could in the darkness until she softly landed on her feet. She slowly opened her eyes, her heart racing. She was under a starlit sky, standing on a paver floor in front of an impressive burning castle as the flames were as high as its towers. The gate was scattered on the ground, while above its main entrance, a large black banner floated, stamped with a dark green skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. She watched the castle burn until she suddenly felt cold, and her body shivered as she saw a hooded silhouette coming out from the main entrance. She meant to reach for her wand before she heard her mom's soft voice in her ear.
"Alexa...Wake up, sweetie, it's time."
Alexa slowly opened her eyes, feeling exhausted but relieved to see she was safe in her bed. She leaned against her pillow and glanced at her watch before hiding under her blanket.
"Mom! It's only half-past eleven in the night!" Alexa moaned.
"I know, sweetie...But your dad has to get on the road right now to get to Hamburg in time, and you want to kiss you goodbye before he leaves." Lea Acker said.
Alexa threw away her blankets and jumped out of her bed, stormed out of her room, and ran to the entrance. She found her father outside charging his suitcase in his car's trunk, and she threw herself on him, hugging his waist tightly, her face buried in his belly. Alexa didn't cry; even if she dreaded the moment, he would have to leave again. Her father ran his fingers in her hands before carrying her and seating her on his car's trunk in front of him.
"I going to miss you both" he said.
"Do you really have to go right now? Before even breakfast?" Alexa asked.
"I'm afraid I do. I have eight hours to do and work tomorrow. So, I'd like to get there early so I could have some rest" he said.
"I wish I could stay another week!" Alexa said.
"I'll be back for Easter, I promise!" he said. "Until then, take care of your mom, and keep training! I'm sure one day you'll become a great witch, famous all over the world!" He said.
"Dad!" Alexa said, hugging him.
"Are you going to sneak her in your trunk?" Lea Acker asked as she walked toward them carrying a picnic basket.
"I wish I could sneak you both!" he answered.
"I made you enough food for the day! I've also added a little surprise." Lea said, putting the basket in his hands.
"Thank you!" He said, putting the basket on the passenger's seat before kissing his wife.
"Please be careful on the road! Drive slowly; they said on the news it's going to snow near Frankfurt." Lea said.
"I know, I was with you" he said, hugging her.
"And call me every two hours so I'll be sure you stopped to rest. I'll be up and home all night." Lea ordered him.
"I promise! You know I don't joke with this!" Benjamin Acker said.
Mrs Acker nodded, then reached for Alexa and dragged her to a family hug. They silently hugged each other tightly for a long moment, none of them willing to break it, and Alexa would have done anything to make it last forever. Unfortunately, her father let go of them, wiped a tear from his eye before kissing Alexa on the cheek, then his wife before getting inside his car and turning on the engine. A moment later, Alexa and her mother stood on the pavement in front of their house, watching the car drive away in the night.
"Come on, Sweetie. Let's go inside before we catch a cold." Her mother said softly, passing an arm around Alexa's shoulders. "Go back to bed; you can still sleep five hours before school starts."
Alexa nodded, kissed her mother and went back to her room. She climbed back on her bed and dragged the blankets to her, only she was too worried to fall asleep again. She kept thinking about her father, driving alone in the night, on the Baden-Wurttemberg roads. She kept turning from one side to another in her bed until an annoyed half-asleep voice talked to her.
"Someone trying to sleep down here!" Sirius said.
"If I'm bothering you, you can always leave MY room and go sleep in the Hallway instead," Alexa replied curtly.
Sirius stood up and sat on the bed's edge." What's going on? Is it because of your father?"
"Yes! He just left! 800 km in the middle of the night, in winter!" Alexa said, leaning on her pillow.
"I'm sure he is pained to leave you guys behind" Sirius said, yawning.
"I know he is! But that's not my point! I'm worried; what if something happens to him on the road? What if it starts snowing, and he gets trapped alone in the cold? Or worse!" Alexa said.
Sirius sighed, looking at the cozy corner near the radiator he had settled his blanket to sleep on.
"He's going to be fine, Alexa" Sirius said.
"How can you be sure?" Alexa said, angry.
"Because I'm going to follow him to Hamburg and only come back when he arrives home" Sirius said.
"How? Can you fly without a broom? Or are you planning to turn into Padfoot and run the 800 km behind his car?" Alexa asked.
"No, I'll apparate," Sirius said, standing up.
"What?" Alexa asked.
"Disappear from a place to appear elsewhere," Sirius said, stretching.
"Oh...Is that even possible?" Alexa asked, frowning.
"I'm going to use something we call 'magic', you can't understand...Anyway, do you have a map of Germany I could use?"
"Of course!" Alexa said, jumping out of her to open a drawer under her desk. "Here!" she said, handing him a folded map," And this one is Hamburg's", adding another.
"Thanks! Sirius said before stretching the map on Alexa's bed to study it, running a finger over the road linking the village to Hamburg.
"How are you going to follow him exactly?" Alexa asked, curious.
"It's not him I'm going to follow but the road he has to follow. I'm going to apparate every twenty kilometers and wait for him to pass and repeat until I arrive at Hamburg." Sirius said.
"You know, thank you, but you don't have to," Alexa said.
"It's going to knock me out, but it can make you feel better; I promise I'll watch over him," Sirius said, folding the maps and tucking them in his jacket pocket.
"Thank you, Sirius!" Alexa said, smiling.
"He hasn't been driving, so I guess he hasn't reached the highway yet." Sirius said, opening the window and climbing on its edge." Alright, I'm going now...Tomorrow after school, come straight back home. I don't think I'll be fit to train you."
"You got it!" Alexa said.
"And I love you," Sirius said, his eyes softening.
"Oh...Er...I love you too." Alexa said.
"I was talking to the radiator, not to you," Sirius replied. "Go back to bed now!" he added before disappearing.
Thank you for reading! Please review!