All warnings were given first chapter… please refer to it!
The Crow
(First Arc: The witch from another world)
(Part 04)
XxxxXxxxX
…
There is no dreading the answer now.
Clow Reed is necessarily merciless with it.
"The year of our queen 1856" Her blood turned to ice. All that kept Violet from breaking apart at the seams was the enchantingly powerful sorcerer holding her together. She clung to him, desperate and shocked. "I take it you've been temporarily displaced as well?" His calm is minutely sedating her.
Violet breathes.
Dread, fear, loneliness.
Crushing these feelings seemed impossible, so Violet just let herself depend on Clow for now.
"Oh Merlin, a hundred years...! What will I do?" She begged, cringing at the way her voice broke. She's seventeen and hasn't the most enviable education in the world. Oh, she does know how to house keep at least, but would it be enough to tide her over in Victorian England? Would it help her go back home?
"You can stay within my home for as long as you need, we can find a way back to wherever or whenever you came from" And Clow Reed speaks so confidently that Violet manages to relax.
...
Something of his burrows underneath her skin…
...
That surety of his, the confidence and pride… It crawls deeper inside of Violet than nothing else ever did before.
"I can't burden you!"
...
"Freak! You're worthless without us! We took you in from the goodness of our hearts and this is how you repay us? Ungrateful little whelp, it would have been better if you had died with your good for nothing parents"
...
"Don't worry, I have the means to support you - and if you're worried about being a burden, I am a master, Miss Potter, you can stay as my student until we find what can be done about you, yes?... Sleep a little more, I will have someone prepare a bath for you - and a change of clothes - you can dine with me if you're feeling better, we can resume talking then"
His words ease her fears, and his powers swears to protect her.
'His aura is calming'
"Alright, I think I can do that"
'Ultimately, landing here might not have to be bad. But I still want to go home'
XxxxXxxxX
True to his word, an hour or two after Clow left, a female servant came knocking on the room's door.
'It is a little weird knowing human servants are working here, and not house elves…' Violet thought numbly, still trying to find parallels.
'Clow is a wizard… well, sorcerer… so where are his house elves?'
"Um… sorry, are there only humans working here?" – sounded like a really rude thing to ask the maid – greying hair pulled tightly in a working knot, severely pressed clothes in the Reed's house colors and holding a bundle in her arms – So Violet was actually saved from having to ask such question when the older woman presented the witch with a door she previously hasn't thought about much.
'A bathroom. A connecting bathroom' Who would have thought?
Getting herself off the bed was the easier part, though. Violet's legs shook horribly, and her belly clenched at the movement. A thin, bony hand went to brace her body against the headboard while the other was obliged to push dark burnt red colored strands of hair away from startling green eyes.
"Uh… My hair is so greasy!" Violet noticed in disgust as soon as she finished getting steady. Not only her hair, her body felt sticky and dirty – like she's sweat a lot and bathed under rain…
"…You fell from a Storm…"
'That explains it' The memories evoked were painful. 'Think Violet… priorities… what should I do now?'
'I can start by having a bath' She thought hysterically.
So what if the maid was there to draw a bath for her, or that she had nothing to wear but soiled bed sheets? 'This way I'll start to feel right at home… all I'm missing is Aunt Petunia harping from the kitchen and for Uncle Vernon's purpling face' The sarcasm was desperate and painful, if anything.
As if reading her mind, the aforementioned maid presented the bundle she was holding to a dazed Violet, who still stood on wobbly legs and needed the walls to remain upright.
"Miss. Master Clow has ordered these delivered to you" Non nonsense voice, deep and steady. The maid hurried to the bathroom while leaving Violet contemplating the dress she's been given.
Amongst thoughts of 'How did he know this would fit' to 'I look horrible in blue' as her mind decided to just shut itself for a while, Violet gave the maid a few minutes at least so the tub will be filled.
Only, she allowed herself to truly relax in the sparkling bubble bath.
Though she didn't really remember much of it… 'Being waited on is odd!' That's the least of her problems.
…
After dressing in the blue and golden, relatively simple dress, the young green eyed woman was guided to a private and cozy study room, walls covered in shelves upon shelves of books and knickknacks, scrolls and maps and magic surrounding everything.
The maid who picked Violet from her room –
"What's your name?"
"Katya, mistress"
"I'm not-"
"Follow me please"
– brought the young witch to the end of the room, behind a wide, massive wooden table and a high backed chair where a large bay window was hidden by dark blue draperies.
The small veranda, although somewhat secluded, offered a breathtaking view of the gardens surround the manor – magically blossoming cherry trees lining stone paths and water fountains sending sparkling droplets up the air to embrace the waning moonlight, all illuminated by undulating fairy lights.
The aftermath of the storm earlier that day was clear in the way the air smelt charged, heavy and fresh at the same time.
"Good evening Miss Potter, I was hoping you would join me" The smile he offered was so beautiful and relieved that Violet wondered how she could even deny his future invitations. It felt empowering, seeing her mere presence – Violet's presence never amounted to anything but disaster and bad luck – cause such genuine reactions in someone she's met barely a day.
Katya the reticent maid received a nod from her master and promptly left the veranda, leaving Violet contemplating the view and the simple, if delicious, looking dinner on the garden table made for two.
'I'm not hungry' Her stomach protested, rolling and aching at the same time. 'Seize the day' Violet told herself firmly 'carpe diem' After all; Clow Reed was going to help her.
Help her go home, if that's even possible. Violet would force herself to be content if all he can do is tell her, her friends are alive and Voldemort is truly gone.
Clow Reed stood from his seat and as a gentleman; he bowed over Violet's hand and guided her to her chair. Throughout all this, the witch's cheeks blazed in pleased embarrassment. Not even her date to the Yule ball in fourth year was so courteous.
She went with Ron. He spent more time complaining about Hermione than realizing Violet was bored and irritated by his inability to pay attention to her. She's a girl too. She had a princess' dream of a ball once.
A shame, really, that the man she admired would never look at her like a woman.
"I guess I should start saying Thank you" The green eyed witch offered a plain smile in return, cheeks aching with the effort to hold the almost foreign expression. "I… don't know what I'd have done if I was by myself lost a hundred years in the past"
Waking up alone in her bed in the Dursley's house after Sirius' death was torture. Her thoughts swirled down a dark path, filled with mad cackles and green light and pain. Violet doesn't want to go through such a horrible experience (alone) again.
"Think nothing of it" Clow told her reassuringly. Sitting himself after allotting Violet on her own seat. He even pushed her chair. A handsome, powerful man. She's met many – Malfoy Jr. and Sr., Sirius heck, even Tom Riddle – but none of them ever looked at her like Clow did.
The dinner itself…
Violet was mortified by her lack of education in etiquettes.
She felt like a bumbling elephant when comparing her table manners to Clow's, though he never commented on it. He just kept smiling at her, kindness and patience and dare she think it – love – in his eyes. They traded niceties through dining, with Violet praising the chef or commenting on the climate.
'Now is the time. Brace yourself Potter'
"Can… can you send me back?" She asked abruptly, already feeling anticipation fill her every pore.
Her host stopped all motion, his face blanked carefully and he meticulously met her eyes, conveying all manner of things through them alone. Violet felt her breath caught in her throat.
Whatever the answer is, it isn't good…
She told herself to be strong. She's being strong everyday of her life.
"No… It is unfortunately outside my jurisdiction" He revealed slowly, carefully, regret now bending his elegant eyebrows down. "I must ask of you now. Would you like to know the truth? I won't ever utter a lie to you, Miss Potter; however the truth can be unpleasant no matter how one words it"
"What truth?" Violet's heart was like a hummingbird, hammering violently in her chest. The good food she's eaten now threatened to leave her turbulent stomach, and the sweet, fruity wine became dull and dry.
"You've not only been moved in time, but space as well" Clow told Violet. She froze. Every single cell of her body protesting the sheer injustice of it all and It's not fair!
'Yet. It is something I've been expecting'
And 'How does he know?'
"How…?" It's so heavy a question that her tongue almost couldn't move to shape it.
Dark blue eyes shone under the moonlight, revealing a mysterious silvery sheen in his gaze that reflected the barely contained power humming just under his skin. He still wore dark blue, black and gold, elegant and tall and powerful.
Violet trusted this man. 'Inexplicably, utterly mad and without reason' Telling her something so painful and teasing her raw, shaking nerves… It hurt all the more because she trusted him.
Something writhing under her skin with his every glance, the very air sparked when their eyes met, and her skin lit on fire whenever he bestowed his touch.
'I've never felt this way before'
An instinctive action on her part, the same crazy part of her that led her to trusting Sirius in third year, and trusting Narcissa Malfoy in the end…
'He knows what I want to know'
The tilt to his lips turn grim.
It's not a smile, yet not a grimace – a parody between, that doesn't deserve a place on his face, as if he could see inside her thoughts.
"My true gift is prescience; I can see everything from past, presence and future" Clow revealed carefully. "And I cannot see you. I've looked for you throughout future events and parallels worlds and I can't find you. Not this version of you at least, not one who knows magic and comes back a hundred years to the past"
Violet wanted to argue like she's never have done before. The feeling of powerless rage that took over her when she destroyed the Headmaster's office, or the utter anger she felt when she had to patch Hermione's arm up after Bellatrix' little carving scheme…
'It's not fair. Haven't I sacrificed enough? It wasn't even my fault that I ended up here!'
She wanted to deny and wanted to topple the gorgeous table down the garden bellow – something in her chest just broke. Her magic thrashed around her, making individual strands of burgundy colored hair to rise and sparkle, the cutlery between them on the table rattled dangerously – It took more than a few minutes for the witch to regain control.
...
When she blinked, Violet could see behind her eyelids. Light, laughter and joy. She could feel all-encompassing arms reaching for her and never letting go. For a moment she believes and calms down.
...
The duality of feelings draw a storm in her chest. But something is keeping everything in check.
"Does it mean I don't exist anymore?" She had to ask once her temper was not in danger of flaring explosively.
Clow regarded her impassively, something not pity in his expression but definitely soft.
"Oh you do. You are still here. What I mean is that you didn't exist in this time-line before your appearance here… I cannot see you because I can look only forward, backwards and sideways in time – you might have existed somewhere beyond even what I can see. That's another's area of expertise and even then there are heavy prices to pay for those who play with universal forces" He paused, giving Violet's enraged mind time to absorb the information "There are ways to return you to your world, don't mistake my hesitance to disclose those means as unwillingness to help you"
The green eyed witch calmed down. She understood and accepted his words – he had no reason to lie, and he said he wouldn't tell her lies.
"What prices?"
The powerful sorcerer in front of her didn't change. Yet the air around him shimmered with motes of power, making Violet know he found both the question she's asked and the answer he'd give displeasing.
But he wouldn't lie. That's what is important.
Clow Reed reigned in his own power now, closed his eyes in resignation and smiled a particularly strange smile. "Oh Miss Potter… A universal law is; to gain something, you have to give up something of equal value to keep the balance. Right now, what is of most importance to you?"
...
When she faced against the Boggart, or when she was surrounded by Dementors bent on sucking out Sirius' soul. The thing she values most and is most afraid of losing is her happiness. It means magic, Hogwarts, her friends.
But didn't she lose all of that already?
...
"I don't know" Violet managed to say, chest tight. "I… I have to think about it…"
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TBC