ritten for Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
Team: Appleby Arrows
Position: Chaser 2
Prompt: Jenny of Oldstones
Additional Prompts: Death, Rare Pair, Cursed piece of jewellery
Word Count: 3030
Warning(s): Descriptions of corpses. Death.
They sing of heroes and knights that perish in wars.
But what of those left behind?
Andromeda's breath was taken away.
The usual Great Hall was transformed into a stunning dancing hall, with laughter and giggles erupting from every corner of it. The instruments sat at the far corner of the Great Hall, charmed to play upbeat music. Skirts twirled at the centre of the room in myriad colours, painting the white floor.
Andromeda stepped further into the hall, biting her lips in an attempt to contain her excitement. She stood on her tiptoes, craning her neck to search for her friends.
She spotted her cousin first. Regulus stood quietly, leaning against the wall, observing the dancing couples with a feigned detachment.
"Dromeda!"
Her thought was interrupted, however, by the voice of Sirius Black, leaning against the table, his sly grin tinged red already by the champagne. Andromeda smirked, shaking her chastising head at her cousin.
"How many have you had already?"
Sirius merely smirked into his fluted glass. "Not nearly enough for a celebration like this."
"Here, you're missing out," Sirius passed his own drink to Andromeda. "If you want intervention, here's your chance."
Andromeda chuckled, "Well, who can refuse that." With a teasing grin, she took the drink, downing it.
"Come," Sirius wrapped his arm around hers, patting it as he craned his neck around the Great Hall. "I want to make Marlene speechless with this suit."
Andromeda chuckled, "Very well, then," Andromeda began to lead him into the crowd, intent on keeping Sirius away from the drinks.
Andromeda stumbled on a large stone, the drink clearly getting to her brain already compared to her cousin, who apparently handled alcohol better as he walked steadfastly.
Sirius burst into laughter. "Merlin, keep it together… Ah, there's Remus."
Sirius waved over his head. Remus stood by the food table, looking exhausted as ever as if he hadn't slept a wink in weeks. He didn't look dejected though, as he listened contently to James' retelling of how he released a horde of diricawls into the Charms class, sending Flitwick into an outrage. James' arm was draped around Lily, his eyes shimmering excitedly behind his spectacles. And, as always, wherever Lily was, there was Snape as well, quietly watching her from a few steps away.
"And I was not invited to this prank?" Sirius' declaration caught their friends' attention. "Never expected a betrayal like this, James."
The friends erupted into a fit of laughter. Andromeda beamed at her friends. There were smiles and laughter, all around her. There was nothing but hope and excitement in their shimmering eyes as they joked and laughed without a care in the world: a privilege only reserved for the young. At the moment, everything felt right and simple. They will graduate. Find love. Marry. And grow old.
"Who got betrayed?"
Andromeda's heart skipped a beat at the voice she recognised. Her friends quickly parted to reveal Theodore Tonks, emerging from another crowd. Teddy, her Teddy. He smiled, his caramel eyes capturing nobody but Andromeda.
James whistled, joking something about getting a room. But Andromeda was not even listening; her loud, rising heartbeat was the only thing audible.
Teddy bowed forward and took her hand to place a gentle kiss. His playful eyes rose to meet hers. "Care to dance?" the corners of his lips pulled into a confident smile.
Andromeda bit down on her smile, trying to contain her excitement, and nodded.
Teddy, as always, was wonderful. He pulled her away, his two inviting hands leading her to the dance floor. His gleeful brown eyes never left hers. He spun her around as they glided across the floor. She felt her cheeks rosy and flushed; whether from the champagne or Teddy, she did not care. At the moment, all that mattered was them: her hand in his. The world melted away, and in this rosy dream that she never wanted to end, everything was simple and perfect.
Her eyes suddenly caught something shining on the floor, a few steps away.
"What is that?"
"Hm?" Teddy raised a brow and tried to look over his shoulder.
"I think… it's necklace," Andromeda whispered, not being able to take her eyes off it.
Teddy chuckled. "And when can I expect my niffler to return her attention to me?"
Andromeda giggled, and placed a hand on his arm. "I'll be right back, I promise," she smiled charmingly at her lover.
His hand, reluctant to let her go, lingered as she stepped away from his embrace. Andromeda made her way through the dancing crowd, which conveniently dispersed to make her way.
It was a locket - the kind her parents would keep to encase a lock of hair of their beloved ones – or deceased ones. It was nearly destroyed, bent in half and dusty. It was clearly old, with green emeralds scattered to draw a single curve.
Andromeda gasped, recognising the locket.
Regulus. He was searching for this, as if his life depended on it. However she reached the conclusion, she just knew she had to get this to Regulus.
She crouched to pick up the delicate object in her hands, scowling at the dark aura that emanated from it.
"Regulus!" she called out to her cousin.
"Regulus, I found your–," her voice trailed off as she turned back in his direction. Her grip tightened around the locket.
The current Great Hall held no resemblance to the remarkable one she was just in. The stained glass shattered. The furniture destroyed. She squinted up at the light that was streaming from above her, noticing that the magical sky was replaced with a large hole; the ceiling and parts of the wall had concaved in. Her gaze naturally landed on the large stones on the floor, the ones she stumbled upon earlier.
Shakily, she brought herself up and looked about herself at the now frozen crowd – rendered hazy and grey as if they were merely ghosts: a shadow of her former life.
She began to jog towards Regulus, the locket tightly held in her palm. Just like the others, her cousin was frozen in time, though his cheeks were still rosy pink.
"Regulus!" Andromeda waved her hand in front of her cousin, but he remained still, staring through her palm with the stern look he usually wore.
A sense of dread filled the pit of her stomach.
"Regulus!" Andromeda tried to ignore the panic rising in her. "Look, I found your locket."
He did not reach for it. Andromeda bit her lips and forced the locket into his open palm. The moment the locket touched Regulus, however, something changed. Beginning with his palm, his skin quickly turned pale and bloated. Red claw marks surfaced on his skin. Andromeda followed the skin's transformation up his arm to his face. Regulus' expression remained blank as ever, until water spurted out from his limp mouth.
Andromeda shrieked in terror, snatching the locket away from his grip that was somehow tainting him. But, it was too late. Regulus' ashen skin shrivelled and grew black like paper scorched by fire. And piece by piece, he disintegrated before her eyes, letting the breeze carry him away from this dreadful place.
Andromeda took a step backwards, trying to contain her shaky breath. Tears welled in her eyes. She quickly wiped them with the back of her hand and turned her head in search of her friends.
She winced at the ringing in her ears as she manoeuvred around the translucent bodies to return to the table, where she had just left them mere minutes ago.
A shaky breath escaped her parted lips at the sight she encountered. She heard her thudding heartbeat in her ears, growing dizzy.
It was a pile of corpses.
James and Lily sat limply on the ground, James' arm still wrapped around her. Sirius was looking up at the sky, a shadow of an empty smirk ghosting his lips. Remus sat against the leg of the table. His eyes closed as if in a peaceful slumber. In the far corner, Severus Snape leaned against the stone wall, his neck sliced open. His exhausted eyes still remained on Lily's, his outstretched hand naturally reaching for her.
Slowly, the piece of ash broke off from their faces, rising to the sky in stacks of grey smoke.
Andromeda choked out a cry before she tore her eyes away from the horrid scene. She desperately searched for her love, her reluctant heart not really wanting to find out.
Teddy stood not too far from her friends, his hand still held in the air at the moment he let her go. The muggleborn had it the worst– his face barely recognisable, slashed and bruised. Andromeda approached him with tears flowing down her cheeks. Andromeda thought she saw a flicker of shimmer in the form of unshed tears in his hopeful eyes, or at least, what remained of it.
She reached her hand up to his cheeks, hesitating in fear. His cheeks that easily creased into an adoring smile. His body was already cold underneath her touch. As expected, his body began to disintegrate under her touch, the flakes slowly detaching themselves from their owner. She felt the breeze this time as it took away her Teddy to the empty sky.
She looked around herself, the cry caught in her throat at the chimneys of dust that filled the entire Great Hall. As the wind carried away her friends and family out of her reach, it was a stark contrast from the carefree, rosy scene that the hall previously held. It filled her with horror; how many people have died. The air smelled of nothing but death and decay.
The Great Hall had grown very empty now.
Andromeda's ears perked at the sound of heavy grating, the friction of the heavy doors against the stone floor. At the hope of another survivor, she raised her expectant eyes to the door.
The man walked bare feet above the broken glass and rubbles. Calmly. Even peacefully. He dragged a heavy black robe behind him. His pale feet poking out at every swoosh of the fabric. His face was concealed in the deep shadow of his hood, but Andromeda was able to easily picture what hid in it. He carried a large scythe, its heavy metal leaving a trail against the rubble. The way he carried himself – he looked inhuman.
Andromeda nervously stood up. She was shaking with fear and hatred and despair, but she was ready. There was nothing that kept her on this Earth.
The Death seemed to intuit her, heading straight towards her.
She wondered, what it was going to be like. She never pictured it, death having been far enough of a concept. She wondered if it would be quick and painless, unlike many of her loved ones.
Death stopped rigidly in front of her.
Andromeda tightened her fist and waited for whatever was to come. A spell, or the swing of the scythe, she was ready for Death if it meant he would take her far away from here.
Death, however, remained motionless and wordless.
"Well?" Andromeda raised her voice challengingly. "Are you here to take me too?"
Death did not speak. His chest merely rose and fell in a deep exhale.
His hand rose to remove the hood.
What was revealed underneath the robe was not a skull. Nor a frail, old man on his deathbed. It was a young man. Andromeda knew this face all too well. His black hair parted neatly, his small dimples appearing on his cheeks with a courteous smile that never reached his eyes. His eyes were grey, and Andromeda knew that his heart was just as cold and unfeeling, despite the charisma and charm that he exuded.
"You," she seethed, rage boiling at the sight of him who dared to smile at her. She closed the distance, her fists raised high in the air at him.
"You took them away from me!" she bared her teeth, driven mad with despondency.
Death was quick to catch her wrists in the air before they made contact. He merely smirked as he used the force to spin her. "It was their time," was all he said quietly.
Andromeda was ready to pull out her hair at the response. She shook her fists violently, still held in his hands. "They were 21!" she screamed. "They were all so young!"
Death nodded, somehow intuiting that she was speaking about James and Lily – the first ones to go. Death continued to spin them, expertly manoeuvring between the rubbles as they glided over the ruin that was her home.
Death spun her in his arms, and for whatever reason, perhaps the smothered spirit that caused her to no longer care, she let him. His hands were ice cold, unlike Teddy's, as he regarded her with a cool smile of indifference. Once again, her skirt flared in one last dance to the silence of the dead. It made for an eerie, deathly scene, how they danced across the Great Hall that continued to erupt in ash and decay.
"You bring death and destruction everywhere you go," Andromeda spoke in a teary voice. "We were all happy before you came," her voice trailed off.
Death continued to stare down at her. His eyes seemed to transfigure second by second from a glimpse of victorious smugness to a hint of remorse, rendering his expression unreadable. "There is a serenity that comes with the acceptance of Death."
His calculating eyes lingered on hers: a subtle, yet meaningful glance that hinted his personal experience with acceptance of Death – and the peace that followed it.
She hated how he seemed to only speak in riddles. The way he spoke was similar to Dumbledore, but devoid of warmth. Dumbledore guided with your hand in his. Death only required that you accept whatever he's thrown your way with abandonment.
"Just take me," Andromeda murmured, her voice devoid of any life. "You've already taken everything from me, anyway."
Death seemed to consider this proposal, seemingly tempted as his eyes glided across the wreckage he'd caused. At last, he spoke enigmatically, "Not everything."
Andromeda's brows knitted in confusion. She was about to ask him to clarify, when Death spun her around so quickly that she stumbled on her heels. She crumbled to the floor, her hands reaching just in time to catch herself. Her eyes darted forward to search for Death.
He was walking up to the back of the Great Hall, his steps steady and slow with determination. Andromeda's eyes landed on what lay ahead. On the step that led up to the professor's table, sat a child. She was suckling on her thumb, her curious eyes observing the approaching Death. Her untamed, bright pink hair rustled as she tilted her head.
Andromeda gasped.
Tears sprung to her eyes at the recognition of her daughter, wanting nothing more but to hold onto the only proof that remained of Theodore Tonks' existence.
A sense of panic flooded her every vessel at the realisation of what Death intended. He truly intended to take everything from her. She stood up, just to stumble to the ground with a hiss. She discarded her heels from her sprained ankle. She crouched on all fours, making her way to her daughter. Shards of glass on the floor tore her dress and slit her skin. Andromeda winced in pain, noting how quickly Death's footsteps seemed to carry him. He walked towards her with open arms, a soft inviting smile ghosting on his lips.
Strength seemed to fail her, as every hand that she reached towards her daughter grew frail and wrinkled. With terror, Andromeda watched her youthful hands lose their vibrance, until only her bony fingers remained. The locks of her hair fell from her updo in grey, fine wisps. The time was against her.
She'd lost her family. Her friends. Her husband. Andromeda gritted her teeth and crawled forward to her daughter, only a few metres away. There was nothing in this world, even Death, that was going to take away her daughter. The only thing that mattered to her. The last thing that mattered to her.
Andromeda screamed out its true name, in what came out as the despairing last scream of an old hag. Death seemed to halt in its track for a moment. It briefly looked over its shoulder at her pathetic state.
For a brief moment, Andromeda clung to her hope that it was going to show her mercy. It raised its eyes, at the broken stained glass windows, the house emblems shattered by his feet, the destroyed castle and blown-out candles. It basked in the morning streaming sunlight, its soft eyes revering its home with melancholia, nostalgia, and fondness in its eyes. As it turned its head towards the ashes rising to the heavens, it resembled a regretful angel that had come to grant peace and respite.
It closed its eyes and breathed in the decay. "My time is up," it mumbled as it opened its eyes in clarity. With a gasp, she noticed the decay that took its hold on Death itself. Truly unfeeling, he paid no heed to the ashes that began to taint and take him to the skies.
"But," its sympathetic eyes landed on Andromeda, destroying any remaining hope that she had. Its lips pulled slightly into a soft smile, "I will take what I've come here for."
Nymphadora Tonks sat a few inches away from her, still clueless and unable to recognise her mother.
"Nymphadora," Andromeda whispered, her eyes trained on her. The pink-haired girl turned her gaze to her. "Nymphadora," she pleaded desperately, needing her daughter to crawl towards her.
Andromeda screamed, spit bubbling at her mouth as she begged and pleaded. The tears blurring her vision as her bloodied hands reached for her daughter. Her hands clawed at the air, her crooked fingers an inch too short to embrace her daughter, to feel her.
She stretched her right arm and fingers as far as she could.
Her index finger brushed against her small toes.
There was a blinding light.
And Andromeda's breath was taken away.