~He stood~
Disclaimer: No money. No castle. Not mine.
This day's black fate on moe days doth depend; This but begins the woe that others must end.
-Romeo & Juliet
~Chapter 1~
He stood there, staring at the tomb. 1986-2004. Only seventeen years, it wasn't right, she deserved much more than those seventeen years, much more than the sadness that filled it, much more than a death like that, much more than him.
He'd loved her; with a feeling stronger than any he'd ever known. And much to his surprise, she had loved him too. They were so happy together. They'd kept their relationship secret because she said it was too special to have other people carelessly gossiping about. So they met at night often, by the lake. He remembered those precious nights, with a bittersweet nostalgia; for one of those nights had ended in her death.
It was an accident. How could life be so fragile as to end with the simple misreading of a label? She had told him she had a terrible headache and he had offered to get her a pain-relieving potion. He searched through the shelves in the dim light and picked up a small bottle that said Headache. Perfect! He ran back out and gave it to her; she smiled, gave him a kiss and took a sip.
After her body had gone cold, he stared at the bottle in shock. What he had read as headache in the bright moonlight, now said heartache; but even then, how could it cause this? He shattered the bottle; it's contents dripping into the lake, the bits of glass sparkling dimly through the grass several feet away. Later he found out that the heartache potion was a powerful potion, it made the drinker relieve all of their saddest memories, until that's all they knew and they lost their will to live, their heart simply stopped working. It worked quickly and was nearly undetectable. It was generally illegal, however it was used in education like Veriserum. It used to be used in the execution of criminals.
He'd been in such a state of shock that he didn't even know how he'd gotten back to his dorm. When he woke up, his knuckles were raw from pounding the wall and his face was stiff with tears and all he could remember was shattering the bottle. He dazedly made his way to the shower, falling into routine without thinking. He must have gotten up late again, for most of the boys were gone. He felt the cold water dripping down his face, along with his own salt tears and he punched the wall. How could he have just left her there!? She was dead and there could be no help for her, but she deserved more than being discovered by some first year student all alone. He turned the shower off, changed, and rushed out towards the entrance. As he passed the Great Hall, he was disturbed by its silence. It was filled with most of the students, yet none were eating their food or talking with their friends. They all stared at Dumbledoor with looks of horror, shock, or grief.
He turned towards the doors; he'd figure all that out later, right now, he needed to be out there with her. As he reached towards the knob, he heard her name being whispered. He walked back towards the Great Hall and caught snippets of whispered conversation. "murder" "poison" "death-eater." He walked towards his table and sat down as Dumbledoor spoke once more.
" I know this is shocking, but I assure you, we will discover the culprit. You need not fear for your safety, an investigation is already under way. There will be a memorial service for Miss Chang this afternoon. As it is, classes have been canceled and you are all to stay inside the castle until we have this sorted out."
The rest of the day was a blur for him. He wondered through it with one thought chasing through his head. In two days it was her birthday and he'd already bought her present. While he pondered the weight of this one thought, the rest of the situation eluded him. And thus it came, that evening Dumbledore reported the culprit caught and the grounds safe. He wondered how this could be, here he sat and not once had they spoken to him. Perhaps, they wished to hear him say it himself. He was on his way to Dumbledore's office when he was met with a sight that equally haunts his mind. A boy his age was being restrained by two aurorors as a third snapped his wand. The boy struggled, protesting his innocence, but his captors merely laughed. The boy pleaded to speak with his parents who he was certain could fix this. "They've disowned you, boy. They didn't come to the trial and they certainly aren't launching an appeal. You're just lucky we didn't have enough evidence to convict. As it is you are forever banned from the wizarding world." The man paused, smiling the other two, "It's about time we got rid of some mini death-eater trash." They put a silencing spell on the boy who now had tears streaming down his face.
Back in the cemetery, the man wondered from the grave of his long-dead love, to the grave of the second person whose life he'd ruined.
************************************************************************
Disclaimer: No money. No castle. Not mine.
This day's black fate on moe days doth depend; This but begins the woe that others must end.
-Romeo & Juliet
~Chapter 1~
He stood there, staring at the tomb. 1986-2004. Only seventeen years, it wasn't right, she deserved much more than those seventeen years, much more than the sadness that filled it, much more than a death like that, much more than him.
He'd loved her; with a feeling stronger than any he'd ever known. And much to his surprise, she had loved him too. They were so happy together. They'd kept their relationship secret because she said it was too special to have other people carelessly gossiping about. So they met at night often, by the lake. He remembered those precious nights, with a bittersweet nostalgia; for one of those nights had ended in her death.
It was an accident. How could life be so fragile as to end with the simple misreading of a label? She had told him she had a terrible headache and he had offered to get her a pain-relieving potion. He searched through the shelves in the dim light and picked up a small bottle that said Headache. Perfect! He ran back out and gave it to her; she smiled, gave him a kiss and took a sip.
After her body had gone cold, he stared at the bottle in shock. What he had read as headache in the bright moonlight, now said heartache; but even then, how could it cause this? He shattered the bottle; it's contents dripping into the lake, the bits of glass sparkling dimly through the grass several feet away. Later he found out that the heartache potion was a powerful potion, it made the drinker relieve all of their saddest memories, until that's all they knew and they lost their will to live, their heart simply stopped working. It worked quickly and was nearly undetectable. It was generally illegal, however it was used in education like Veriserum. It used to be used in the execution of criminals.
He'd been in such a state of shock that he didn't even know how he'd gotten back to his dorm. When he woke up, his knuckles were raw from pounding the wall and his face was stiff with tears and all he could remember was shattering the bottle. He dazedly made his way to the shower, falling into routine without thinking. He must have gotten up late again, for most of the boys were gone. He felt the cold water dripping down his face, along with his own salt tears and he punched the wall. How could he have just left her there!? She was dead and there could be no help for her, but she deserved more than being discovered by some first year student all alone. He turned the shower off, changed, and rushed out towards the entrance. As he passed the Great Hall, he was disturbed by its silence. It was filled with most of the students, yet none were eating their food or talking with their friends. They all stared at Dumbledoor with looks of horror, shock, or grief.
He turned towards the doors; he'd figure all that out later, right now, he needed to be out there with her. As he reached towards the knob, he heard her name being whispered. He walked back towards the Great Hall and caught snippets of whispered conversation. "murder" "poison" "death-eater." He walked towards his table and sat down as Dumbledoor spoke once more.
" I know this is shocking, but I assure you, we will discover the culprit. You need not fear for your safety, an investigation is already under way. There will be a memorial service for Miss Chang this afternoon. As it is, classes have been canceled and you are all to stay inside the castle until we have this sorted out."
The rest of the day was a blur for him. He wondered through it with one thought chasing through his head. In two days it was her birthday and he'd already bought her present. While he pondered the weight of this one thought, the rest of the situation eluded him. And thus it came, that evening Dumbledore reported the culprit caught and the grounds safe. He wondered how this could be, here he sat and not once had they spoken to him. Perhaps, they wished to hear him say it himself. He was on his way to Dumbledore's office when he was met with a sight that equally haunts his mind. A boy his age was being restrained by two aurorors as a third snapped his wand. The boy struggled, protesting his innocence, but his captors merely laughed. The boy pleaded to speak with his parents who he was certain could fix this. "They've disowned you, boy. They didn't come to the trial and they certainly aren't launching an appeal. You're just lucky we didn't have enough evidence to convict. As it is you are forever banned from the wizarding world." The man paused, smiling the other two, "It's about time we got rid of some mini death-eater trash." They put a silencing spell on the boy who now had tears streaming down his face.
Back in the cemetery, the man wondered from the grave of his long-dead love, to the grave of the second person whose life he'd ruined.
************************************************************************
