Rant time: I have been playing the Hogwarts Mystery game for over a year now so slowly but surely my mind started working in the background crafting new scenarios. This is so out there for me, out of my scope or comfort zone but I needed to get it out.
My initial thought is that I want to contain this fic in a maximum of 10 chapters so wish me luck with that. I am known for turning a one shot into an already 49 chapter things and it's still ongoing.
But enough of this. Action, set, cameras all are directed a few months after Hogwarts ended for Talbott Winger, scene developing before our eyes in an Auror training camp set by the Ministry.
Hope you enjoy it.
It was not unusual for it to rain, especially not in London, the water dropping from the night sky relentlessly, cloaks and clothes underneath long soaked, sticking to the skin. Discomfort had long been discarded, minds not even wandering to such mundane feelings of pleasure, warmth or comfort, not with the current task at hand. Despite the cold settling deep inside tired bones, all the running turned their lungs to fire, breaths coming out in small steam clouds. Muscles ached, yet quitting had never been an option, the only formable thought being to push through, get to safety no matter the odds stacking up against them.
Gripping her waist tighter, securing once more the arm draped around his neck, he continued pulling his partner through narrow slippery stone cobbled allies, ignoring the hot liquid travelling down the arm that was quickly becoming the only support system. Worn out shoe soles glided on the smooth surface, weight suddenly shifting. How he managed to secure his leg just in time was a miracle if one was ever witnessed. Through gritted teeth Talbott urged her to continue, urgency lacing every word verbalised "Come on Talia, a bit further." Groaning he felt his grip loosen, girl falling to her knees, breath heaving.
"I can't." the dagger hit her scapula, digging into muscle only, he checked, he double checked right then and there in the pouring rain, shaky fingers brushing aside the soaked fabric clutching her back, crimson liquid sticking to caramel coloured skin however that did not hinder him "Go Talbott, please." her situation did, the willingness to be left behind when such a task could not be performed. Giving up was not an option, never was or will be, such needed to be their way of thinking in order to become Aurors.
Checking the surroundings, the only shadows dancing with them were cast from the frail lampposts, shaking under the constant pressure inflicted by the weather. Running a hand over his face, he tried to clear his mind and just think. Poisoned, it was the only palpable explanation, setting off inside his mind like firecrackers during the festivities. It had to be, there was not another thing to justify such weakness in the limbs, health rapidly deteriorating under his agitated gaze. Pulling Talia back on her feet, she barely had any energy left, limbs struggling to hold onto him, legs shaking as if the sheer weight of her body was suddenly too much to bare "I'm not leaving you here."
No use, there was no use, his strength was not enough to hold her up despite the frame being smaller than his, body weighing less. Coiling his fists into her clothes, he made a second attempt, a wretched sound caused only by pain escaping from between trembling lips "I'm slowing you down Talbott." Looking over his shoulder, no one lurked in the shadows ready to make a second attempt at their lives.
He wanted to yell, shake her body until she finally realised the stupidity those words held, until she came to her senses, throw a sarcastic remark her way like he always had, however the paleness of her skin and inconsistent breathing pattern suffocated the quips he wanted to lay in front of her. All words suddenly held no meaning, the sense of danger reaching the back of his mind as she stumbled once more, both landing on the wet ground.
She was a priority, after all she was the one that pushed him out of the way taking the hit, always ready to step in front of him, be there a nose picking smug child who thought they owned the world because they came from a good family, or be it a Dementor ready to devour every happy spark she held, such was her, always in front, or behind him, where the situation required it.
Cradling her in his arms could not fix it, yet he wanted to show her he was there, that he was not going to leave her alone in the cold, dark, smelly back ends of the Knockturn alley. The sounds of fighting followed by Snape's incantation calmed his nerves, help was near, it meant they could save her. They would soon reach a dry room, dispose of the soaked garments that were not beginning to hinder, stand in front of a fireplace in order to get warm. It would be alright, soon it would all be a bad memory.
"Just a little longer, hang on a little longer." Nodding at her, he rocked her body back and forth, two arms holding onto her for dear life. She wouldn't stop shaking, trembling against him, a motion so violent, making his heart beat just as wildly. He knew what was going to happen "Stay with me damn it." history repeating itself, death following him like a dark shadow, looming and taking over anyone whom he even dared care for. As much as he wished those horrific thoughts to go away, panic ate away, making its way quickly inside an already fragile heart. He had been broken from deep inside, stitched back together in the most bizarre complex way, threads barely containing raw pain, shaping a code just for himself.
Now however…
If such was what destiny had planned out for him then he wanted no part of it, he did not wish to feel, to see what was so evidently painful, a life being snuffed out right in front of his eyes. He wanted to be little once more, a stubborn child refusing what was being offered.
But this was not caring, this was not some idle fleeing friendship over Butterbeer, it held more weight than those innocent feelings from his early years. This was not a girl who eyed him in class, but was too shy to approach him. Not someone he could easily avoid while hiding in one of the many places he knew around Hogwarts.
There was no hiding this time, no Owlery big enough to contain him.
This was his partner, the one who always had his back, who never let secrets spill from her lips not even in the most dreadful of situations and there were many, so so many. Too many to recall between his loud, pounding heart beats. Too much in just a year since they sat face to face.
"Professor Snape is here, he will help you, so stay with me yes?" the tremble in his voice registered in his ears as she strained to keep heavy lids opened, a weak smile revealing to him that at least she was still able to pay attention to his words "You will get better, then I will let you take me to that dreadful muggle library, let you read to me those scandalous lines. We can listen to any songs you wish." his voice crackled and broke with each promise leaving his tongue "I will learn to dance."
Lifting her hand was visibly painful, him catching her wrist in a gentle hold, leading a cold hand to his cheek "Don't be upset dear" eyes widened for she had never used such sweet words to express herself, the sound of them tightening his chest to the point it hurt even more "I already outlived my destiny once." This was goodbye, the last of her breaths being used on him.
"Shhh" his arms cradled her closer to his chest "no more talking, you can tell me all of this once you are better." Her arm held no more power as it just dropped with a small thud on her lap, every fibre of her body feeling like she had been set on fire.
"Don't lie to me, I know" a coughing fit forced her muscles, the strain draining what little energy she had to begin with. Blood stained her teeth, the colour discernible even in the poor lit alley "don't be mad please." Her words reached him, yet barely registered as he was trying not to break apart right there with her in his arms "Don't punish yourself." He had to be the strong one, he needed to reassure her, not take his eyes off her. He needed to smile, yet his lips wouldn't curve that way.
Instead his eyes stung, chest beginning to heave, head shaking from left to right "No, no, no ple..." the pleas were cut short, the lump in his throat so bitter making it hard to swallow. He needed more time, he had to have it. There were so many more things to discuss, more adventures and late night discussions. They still needed to push each other, debate which ingredients worked best in traps, which spells he knew better and which she could conjure faster. His mouth would not cooperate, heart breaking with each passing second.
Eyes once shinning like the rarest gems were turning dull, life leaving them as he pleaded inside his own mind not again. He could take anything else, being alone, the tormented nights, being picked on or looked at funny for the way he acted. He could take ridicule, sleepless nights, training his mind and body in the most horrifying ways. He would work harder, become better at everything if somehow, in some way fate decided to look the other way that night.
How could his heart learn to handle another loss? He hasn't even fully coped with his own trauma and now he was fast forwarding towards another one with nothing to break the fall.
As her chest stopped expanding, eyes closing to never open once more, he clutched at her harder, fingers tangling in soaked locks. The rain didn't bother him, the cold stopped registering, sounds dimming as his own heartbeat rang in his ears like war drums, making his unusual heightened senses deaf for once.
It felt like being underwater, drowning once more into the same relentless darkness, eyes shut so tight until all he could see were phosphenes blurring his already perturbed vision. Opening his mouth not a cry was let out, but a ragging sound from all the pain, the deafening sound echoing in the night, shattering the constant rumble of the rain. It emanated from the darkest corners he possessed, usual composure shattering savagely.
"Mister Winger." However the voice did not register above the turmoil his soul was throwing back "Mister Winger."
This was not how he imagined things would turn out when he laid his eyes once more on Talia Hayes.
