This is another short piece for the Hopscotch challenge. This time not confined to a setting, but rather to use several words, and a character. I hope that I succeeded.
Watching
She looks from the window, even though there is nothing to see in the darkness. But still she watches. She has the feeling that there is something to be seen, even though she doesn't know what. It just is one of those premonitions Alexandra sometimes has. All she can see are the autumn leaves of the oak standing in front of her house. She briefly feels the temptation to make light appear, but that would break the law, and with the ministry in the state that it is currently in, she would rather not risk that. Especially not after the little affair with the leaflets. She only barely got away with that, and no one got caught for spreading them through the building. They hate it when anyone mentions anything negative about the minister, but it just had to be done, she couldn't stand for his constant denial of what everyone knows to be true. He has returned.
She keeps watching outside, afraid, perhaps they do know. Perhaps they will actually arrest her for what she did. She almost falls over in shock, the house opposite her, belonging to a nice muggle family, is suddenly aflame. Completely, not a small fire spreading, but covered in flames. She runs to the door, rushing into the street. She has to help, laws be damned.
When she is outside she hears another sound, laughter. It sounds hollow, dark and evil. Who could laugh when a house burns?
She turns around, and she sees a figure from a nightmare. A woman, with a well-known face. Her eyes go wide open, and she manages to exclaim: "Bellatrix Lestrange"
And then the first spell hits her, and the moments stretch to eternity.