Chapter 9
The First Task
Finally, the day of the first task arrived. Lyra woke up early with a sense of heavy dread in her stomach. Seeing that it was too cold to go for a swim, she went for a long run instead, wishing she never had to go back, she did anyway. Grabbing a quick early breakfast in her rooms. She showered and changed into dark jeans and a white shirt along with a heavy white blazer. Over which she fastened her white coven cloak. Her wand was placed into the holster and her black leather boots were laced up tightly.
Lyra walked towards the quidditch pitch. The stadium was crowded, filled with students all looking for seats to watch the champions and their skills. Lyra crossed the stadium, which looked nothing like it had just a day ago. It was piled with rocks and stones, making it look more like a Dragon's den.
She walked into the tent that they were asked to gather in. All the other champions and mentors were there. The staff, the judges, friends and family were talking excitedly with each other. Some mentors were discussing last minute theories and strategies with their champions before the beginning of the task.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Sarah talking to a tall man and a short woman beside him. Lyra's breath hitched as she felt her heart do a small somersault.
"Michelin!" She yelled from across the tent. The man who was talking to Sarah turned and quickly jogged over to his sister. They embraced like they hadn't seen each other in a very long time.
She hugged him tightly, as some of her fear melted away. He held her as close to him as possible, continuously thanking her for being there for his idiot daughter. Lyra ignored his gratitude. She just closed her eyes and continued to hug her brother. She hadn't seen him in months and had only herself to blame for it. There was no one in the world, who Lyra loved as much as her older brother. They were unlikely siblings. Apart from the fact that they looked nothing like each other, even remotely, they shared very little in common as well. He was a fully functioning adult, sorted and responsible. Lyra on the other hand, was the complete opposite— volatile and reckless. But unlike a lot of real siblings, they shared a bond stronger than blood. Lyra knew how down in dumps she'd be, if it hadn't been for Michelin.
Lyra pulled away from him, as Zenia launched herself at her best friend. Zenia was a short and petit woman, so Lyra instinctively bent down to hug her and as always picked her up of the floor. Lyra laughed; she was genuinely delighted to see them. On the other hand, Zenia was on the verge of grateful tears, and Lyra tried to pacify her. How the tables had turned, it was usually Zenia who placated Lyra.
"Champions and mentors, we will be commencing the first task shortly, please gather…around." Boomed Mr. Crouch.
"Guests…may I request you to join us in the stadium…" added Mr. Crouch as the tent began to empty.
"Here." said Michelin as he took Lyra's hand in his. He began putting on his solid gold cufflinks on her shirt.
"Michelin…are you crazy…these are your favourite…mom got them for you when you were 17!" Lyra said yanking her hand away, but her brother was resilient.
"Stop flapping your arms like an squid and come here! Gold is supposed to be lucky for the 27." He said propagating an old-wives tale.
He pulled his sister into a tight hug again.
"Try not to die, Phoenix!" He said using her nickname. Lyra nodded firmly at her brother. He then gently turned to his daughter and hugged her just as tightly, kissing her on the top of her head.
"Stay strong, my love!" He said to Sarah holding her chin. His daughter, who had been pushing her parents away, now jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. She pulled her mother into the hug. They looked at Sarah one last time, before exiting the tent.
Lyra placed her hand gently on Sarah's shoulder, hoping to give her some strength. Sarah looked at her aunt.
"We're fucked, aren't we?" She asked chewing her bottom lip.
"We may not be…" Lyra replied smiling encouragingly. Sarah's eyes brightened, did her aunt have a plan?
They walked over to the rest of the collective. Mr. Crouch was holding a bag in his thick gloved hands.
"Ms. Marks, not in full uniform today?" Mr. Crouch complained. Lyra clenched her jaw. They had been asked to dress formally, this being the first task.
Athena looked at Lyra pointedly. Lyra just rolled her eyes. She wanted to see her fight a fucking a dragon in all-white?! Did he have any idea how intricate a spell it took to get the dirt off just the cloak!
"Welcome champions and mentors…to the first task." Announced Dumbledore as the atmosphere grew tense.
"This task has been set to prove your daring nature and exceptional skills. Barty, would you do the honours…" Added Dumbledore moving out of the way.
Mr. Crouch stepped forward, he opened the bag, as a cloud of smoke raised from it.
"Right then…these are just miniatures of what you will have to face out there today. The task will be split into two, each team will have to retrieve a golden egg, which will also be a clue to the next task. One of you will retrieve the egg, while the other defends you from the dragon. Once you have collected the egg, the task will come to an end. However, please remember, the egg is locked behind a series of difficult charms, that you must make your way through." Said Barty Crouch instructing them about the task.
"Now…ladies first…" said Barty Crouch smiling at Sarah as he held open a smoking bag.
Sarah looked at it with pure terror and then gently put her hand into it, burning her finger on the way out. She did however, manage to secure a baby dragon.
"Ah…the Welsh Green…" said Mr. Crouch in wonderment as Sarah looked at the tiny dragon and then to her mentor. She passed the baby dragon to her aunt who lifted the lizard by its tail and examined it. The tiny thing was not best pleased by the way it was being handled, it spat acid at her as it missed Lyra by an inch. Lyra glared at it and then placed it securely into her cloak pocket.
Once all the champions had drawn their dragons, Harry Potter, somehow getting the worst of the lot with the Hungarian Horntail, they were asked to begin the task in the reverse order of their picking. That meant, Potter and Moody were up first.
The other champions and mentors were given corners to wait their turn patiently.
After a long discussion, Lyra and Sarah concluded that it was best if Lyra distracted the dragon while Sarah worked on the charms protecting the egg. She was highly skilled at charms and would probably be completely useless defending herself and her mentor against a dragon.
"Potter's defeated the Dragon…Krum…you're up…" said Zeus loudly. Krum grunted thankfully and made his way towards the arena.
Zeus caught Sarah's eyes who was reading from an extensively large book about dragons while she bit her nails apprehensively. Her mentor, seemed liked she was catching a nap.
Zeus looked towards his own mentor. Snape was going through multiple plants and potions that he had laid on the table nearby. He was pocketing multiple vials after labelling them hurriedly. A venomous tentacular petal…was also added to a small jar which he placed delicately in his pocket. Zeus and Snape had a plan, it was to play to their strengths.
How in the world was Lyra Marks asleep at such a stressful time?!
"Is she…alright?" Zeus asked Sarah walking up to her, eyeing Lyra carefully.
"Huh…oh her…ignore her…she's weird." Said Sarah dismissively.
"Are you facing the dragon like Potter…or breaking charms?" He asked.
"I don't think I'd be able to take on a dragon…she's much better suited for such…activities…my aunt has a penchant for reckless behaviour…so I hope the years of putting down trolls and dark wizards comes handy…I mean…a troll is pretty deadly too, right? And, she's put down so many in her career…even busted rings of vampires…and…"
"Sarah…shut up…I'm trying to sleep." Lyra snapped at her niece. Sarah shot her a disdainful look.
Zeus noticed Sarah's discomfort and invited her over to their station. He offered her some pumpkin juice from their jug. Snape eyed Zeus warningly, the boy rolled his eyes at him.
"Keep helping the enemy and you'll be in for a lot of pain, Zeus." Snape said darkly.
"She's not my enemy…she's…my friend." Zeus said pointedly. He clinked his glass with Sarah's and drank from it. Snape muttered something under his breath about how idiotic his champion was being.
"Professor Snape…Zeus…you're up next…" said professor Flitwick peeping into the tent. He was helping set up the first task.
The two men looked at each other and nodded. They then pocketed their multiple vials and walked towards the exit.
"Good luck Sarah!" Zeus said to her with a beaming smile as he walked out of the tenth.
"You…too." She said, but he was gone before he could hear it.
Another hour passed them by as Sarah paced around, her heart beat faster by the minute. There were no more nails left to bite either.
"Ms. Lincolns…Miss…Marks? Is she asleep?" Professor Flitwick asked flabbergasted, peeping into the tent. He was shocked. How could someone sleep through this?
"She's just…"
"Wake her up, Ms. Lincolns…you're next!" said Professor Flitwick in utter shock.
"Yes…yes sir!" said Sarah urgently, shaking her aunt awake.
Lyra opened her eyes as she stretched and yawned.
"Are you refreshed?" Sarah asked cuttingly, throwing a look at her aunt who was smirking at her.
"I needed to be well rested…"
"Whatever for…I haven't slept all night panicking about this!"
"Then it's a good thing, you'll be at a distance." Replied Lyra. She stood and poured herself some water. She took a few sips and then splashed it on her face, drying it with her hand, she pulled her wand out of its holster.
"Go on…champion!" she smirked at Sarah, instructing her to go out first.
The minute Sarah stepped out, a feeling of extreme pride flooded her, pushing the fear aside for a few seconds. She laughed covering her mouth as she saw AIMS banners flying across the crowd. All her AIMS classmates had painted magical banners to cheer their own, they were chanting her name.
"Feels nice doesn't it…so much admiration?" said Lyra coming to stand next to Sarah, she nodded her head at the cheering crowd.
"You must feel like this all the time!" said Sarah looking at the stadium in wonderment.
"It gets nauseating after a point." Replied Lyra, her smirk dropping into a sneer.
They walked to the centre of the arena. Sarah noticed a nest in the corner and began making her way to it.
The whistle blew loudly, declaring the beginning of the task.
Lyra stood in the middle of the arena, looking around for the dragon. She couldn't spot it anywhere, her eyes rested on Sarah, who was making fast work of getting to the egg.
Suddenly, there was a roar from behind her. Lyra spun on the spot, looking at the large beast flying towards her, one leg still in chains.
Lyra ran from the spot and hid behind a few large rocks as the dragon spat a mixture of fire and acid towards her. Lyra panted; her heart was in her mouth.
A second blast of fire and acid disseminated the rock into dust. She had to make a beeline towards another. Some fast action needed to be implemented. She rushed towards the back of the dragon. Its tail swatted around, hoping to catch this irritant.
"Ligare Radices!" Lyra yelled pointing her wand at the ground.
The ground under the dragon shook as it was about to take flight. However, large roots shot out from below, wrapping themselves around the beast.
"We all knew…that we'd be seeing magic beyond compare in this round…and here it is, folks…Lyra Marks showing us some literal groundbreaking stuff!" announced Ludo Bagman over the microphone.
Lyra concentrated on her spell, twisting her wand and walking towards the wrapped-up beast. The roots had secured it tightly, but the beast struggled to set itself free. Lyra finally understood what this task was about, the dragon was a nesting mother, she wasn't here to fight for the sake of it, she was just trying to protect her nest. Lyra found that utterly cruel, but no one said this tournament wasn't heartless.
"Sonorus!" Shouted Lyra, channelling her power. A blanket of white magic appeared over the dragon, she began to stop struggling and her bright green eyes closed. The dragon began to breath slowly falling into a deep slumber.
Lyra stepped back, that one single sonorous took a large amount of energy from her.
"No wonder! No wonder…the rumours of the little nap that she was taking in the tent…that was clearly a sign…for those wondering what has just happened…a sleeping hex has knocked the dragon out, such a powerful spell could easily knock this entire stadium out as well…such marvellous display of such simple magic…judges you must truly consider this…I know I will!" announced Ludo Bagman yawning over the magical microphone. He tried to sound as excited as he could.
"Are you serious?!" Sarah yelled at her aunt; her mouth hung open. Lyra laughed and shrugged.
This was her plan?! To make the dragon sleep? Sarah couldn't decide if her aunt was the most brilliant person she knew, or the craziest!
"Hurry up! The spell won't last very long!" Lyra ordered as Sarah nodded, she was almost half way through.
"And the AIMS champion is clearly making fabulous time with her charms. Look at the flourishes and strokes, ladies and gentlemen…just some beautiful magic going on here!" Ludo Bagman announced again. The stadium who had been left slightly stumped and drowsy by the spell that Lyra had cast, suddenly roared to life upon hearing the commentary.
Lyra eyed the slumbering beast anxiously. She worried the noise would wake it again. However, that was about to be the least of her worries.
Something moved in her cloak pocket. Lyra knew it was a mistake to have carried it into the arena, but she had forgotten all about it. The tiny dragon who had curled itself into a ball in her pocket, raised its head and watched its sleeping mother. It quickly set itself free. Lyra tried her best to capture it and summon it back, but it dodged her charms expertly, burying itself into the roots. Lyra watched with her wand in her hand as the little beast crawled up through the gaps in its mother's teeth and appeared in her nostril. It then batted around.
"What the fuck are you doing you little shit?" Lyra muttered dangerously, trying to summon it back.
"Oh! Here is something you don't see every day! The miniature dragon given to the champions earlier, has set itself free and is now tickling its mother awake…she's not going to be very happy about that. As all of Hogwarts will tell you…never tickle a sleeping dragon!" said Ludo Bagman chuckling at the scene.
The mother now finally opened her eyes, rising from her peaceful slumber. She was, as Bagman had announced, looking extremely displeased. She sneezed loudly and growled as the tiny dragon shot out of her nostril with full force. Lyra summoned the little beast and pocketed it quickly.
"SARAH! HURRY UP!" Lyra yelled at her niece.
The dragon set herself free from the roots. Spreading her large wings, she roared in anger. Shooting a violent storm of fire and acid towards Lyra, who was standing between the mother and her nest, which in the dragon's eyes, was being raided.
Lyra flicked her wand raising a mountain of dirt from the ground.
"Duro!" She snapped urgently. The dirt hardened into stone and took the brunt of the hell that the beast had unleashed.
The dragon, charged towards Lyra, shoving her to the ground and capturing her under her giant claw. She roared again in Lyra's face. Lyra had taken a nasty fall and her wand had fallen to the side. She stretched her hand in panic to get the wand back, concentrating on summoning it. But being under a dragon's foot was not conducive for great focus that was required for magic without a wand. The dragon opened its large mouth as Lyra could see a ball of fire being produced.
"Aguamenti!" snapped Sarah, directing a jet of water to hit the Dragon in the eye. The Dragon stumbled back screeching in pain.
"An intelligent move there by Ms. Lincolns! She has saved her mentor from a terrifying fate. A dragon's eye is indeed its weakest point!" Ludo Bagman sounded.
Lyra picked up her wand and scrambled back up. Pointing it at the target she performed a feat, even she hadn't expected would be successful.
She moved her wand around dangerously; the dragon began to cry out in pain. She transfigured the dragon into an extremely large barrel.
The stadium could not believe what they were seeing.
"Trans…transfiguration on such a large…beast…is…dangerous! I hope, Ms. Marks knows what she has just attempted!" Ludo Bagman sounded disbelievingly.
Lyra kept the spell going under her breath. She had no idea, how she had done it, but that was the only thing that came to her mind. Transfiguration of such proportions was extremely volatile. Spells were not crafted to contain the ancient magic that Dragons possessed. However, it had always been Lyra's strongest subject. So, she channelled all her power into it. And somehow, it had worked! She gripped her wand with both her hands, pushing all the energy she had left into it.
She kept her eyes trained on the barrel and the spell on her tongue, constantly muttering it under her breath, making sure she was focused, ignoring the fact that all the rolling around, had cut her knee open, making her constantly buckle in pain.
"I GOT IT!" Sarah yelled in finality. The stadium cheered. Sarah held up the egg high, showing it off to the arena, pure joy on her face, she looked at her aunt, who looked at her with a proud smile on her face. Finally, this non-sense was over!
In a huge surge of relief, Lyra's concentration was diverted. Her knee buckled again, this time she fell on both of them, breaking the spell's connection. Once the spell fell through, the barrel shook precariously, the wings and tail sprouted first and then the dragon manifested itself, right in front of her.
Noticing the beast appear in front of her aunt, Sarah dashed towards her, as the Dragon's head hovered inches over Lyra. The beast's burnt breath blew Lyra to the ground with force. Sarah tried to make her way swiftly towards her aunt. However, Lyra watched, the dragon noticing Sarah from the corner of her large eyes. Lyra could see the beast preparing a ball of fire in her throat, to shoot it at her niece.
"Depulso!"
The spell hit Sarah in the chest flinging her off her feet. She landed meters away. Sarah sat there watching in horror as the dragon opened its mouth over her aunt, and before she had the time to react, closed it around Lyra. Through the dragon's nostrils, a large stream of fire jet through. The beast now growled dangerously, turning to Sarah. The dragon then raced towards her as it spat fire and acid everywhere. The stadium burst into chaos!
Sarah was frozen in her spot. Had…her…aunt…where was her aunt?!
A large protective shield appeared around her, as Snape stepped into the Arena pulling her behind him.
"LYRA?!" She screamed loudly as tears dropped down her face. She tried break-away from him, but his grip around her waist was powerful.
The stadium was completely horrified as the Dragon continued to shoot fire and flap it's large wing to move towards them.
Snape pulled Sarah into a ran, deflecting everything the Dragon shot at them. They came to a pause outside the tent as the dragon tamers finally entered the arena.
Sarah unfroze and tried to dash back towards the Dragon with her wand drawn, but Snape transferred her to another.
"NO!" Said her father pulling her fiercely into his arms. He had entered the arena, unbothered by the fact that he shouldn't have been there. The dragon tamers who had descended on the arena, continued to shoot multiple stunners. Aggravating the dragon more as she shoved them away with its tail.
"DAD! It…Lyra…what…DAD! I HAVE TO HELP HER!" Sarah said through her tears.
"No…Sarah…no…stop…please…I can't lose you too! There's no way she got out baby, not…with that last spit of fire." Michelin said, his voice extremely shaken. He didn't know if he was holding on his daughter to comfort her, or if having her in his arms was an effort to comfort himself.
"GET THE CHAINS! She's gone rogue!" Yelled one tamer with red hair, but the dragon was so infuriated, she thrashed around everywhere. The tamers couldn't understand why she wouldn't calm down.
Sarah cried and cried in her father's arms as they watched from the sidelines. The tamers tried everything to get the dragon to cool down, but she wasn't giving. They even tried putting it to sleep like Lyra had, but it didn't work. She thrashed around in unidentifiable irritation, screeching and roaring loudly.
"Sarah…come here…" Athena offered as Sarah was transferred into Athena's arms.
"Michelin…" Athena called to her nephew gently.
"She can't be gone…she can't…" He said repeatedly in disbelief. His wife who was clearing her eyes, rubbed his back gently. What was he supposed to tell his parents? What was he supposed to tell Tessra? How was he supposed to accept this?
The distraught family just stood there watching the dragon struggle and thrash in the distance.
Athena's eyes moved towards the staff who had come down to help the tamers. Dumbledore and Hagrid were trying to control the beast as best they could, alongside the tamers. However, Athena was watching her sister, who's face held nothing but shock, she clutched her stomach and stood there bearing the most painful expression of them all.
"Michelin…look!" Zenia almost yelled at her husband. He looked from his wife, to where she was pointing. He took a step forward in disbelief. Snape who was still standing there joined him. The two men looked at each other as if to confirm that they weren't imagining what they were witnessing.
The untameable dragon had stopped moving, its eyes diluted, its tongue stuck out, it stumbled around a little, then it fell to the ground unconscious.
The tamers where left standing completely confused by this. The tiny dragon had once more, crawled out of its mother's large nostril and screeched near Dumbledore's foot. He picked it up gently. Dumbledore took a step back as the dragon unconsciously sneezed, mucus and leftover acid flying towards him. He deflected it with a wave of his wand. Another sneeze followed. On the third sneeze, Lyra Marks shot out of there and rolled onto the ground, panting. Her body covered in burns, mucus and blood. Her clothes and white cloak were burnt and bloody.
"Ms. Marks…are you…alright?!" He asked quickly crouching next to her.
Lyra turned her head and looked up at him. She nodded trying to breath.
Michelin couldn't contain himself. He ran towards Dumbledore, and his sister.
"LYRA!" He exclaimed falling to his knees.
"Mich…"
"Mich…I lost…your cufflinks…gold…gold…knocks out…dragon…ss" Lyra tried to explain while having a nasty coughing fit. She then passed out.
"We need to rush her to the hospital wing Mr. Lincolns…" said Dumbledore hastily. He waved his wand and lifted up her limp body in the air.
Michelin matched Dumbledore step for step as they moved towards the castle.
Once they were in the hospital wing, the matron began her work.
Michelin paced near the bed as his wife and both his aunts soon joined him. Dumbledore who had been trying to calm the aggravated man, excused himself to go speak to Snape who the matron had called in with potions and a supply of healing salve.
"Michelin…stop pacing for Merlin's sake…you're giving me a headache!" Snapped Athena. She peeped in through the curtains to look at her niece.
Madam Pomfrey was cleaning the burns on her skin with dittany and healing salve, trying to heal them quickly. Athena felt like retching because of the smell, burnt flesh was all that went up her nostrils as her eyes filled with tears looking at the state of the unconscious woman in the bed. She quickly composed herself and looked back her nephew and his wife. Zenia was gently trying to explain something to her adamant husband.
"She'll be alright…" said Athena looking at her nephew and his wife. Michelin glared at her.
"Alright? Alright? Thea! Does she look alright to you? She almost died!" Michelin snarled at his aunt.
"Well, she's resilient Michelin…like always. I'm sure, she's been through worse. These are just burns and a few broken bones, she'll be fine."
"She just crawled out of a dragon's nose, Athena. These aren't just burns...this will count Athena...this will count...this will count...you know this!" He snarled continuing to pace.
"You need to calm down, Michelin!" ordered Zenia.
"Calm down? I will not calm down…I told Reggie this tournament was a bad idea! The Lincolns…we...we...we're not built for adventure and eternal glory!" Michelin snarled.
"Well, she's not really a Lincolns, now, is she?" Zenia said brusquely. Michelin looked at his wife who was defending her best friend's ridiculous notions again.
"Michelin, don't get so riled up…you know what Zenia means…" offered Athena gently.
Michelin looked away, his nostrils flaring in anger and resentment to what his wife had just said. Zenia had been one of those people who Lyra had manipulated into her whole 'not really a Lincolns nonsense'. Zenia believed her friend had every right to know who her real parents were, even if it hurt the feelings of the ones who raised her. Michelin didn't ever see any sense in it. The husband and wife used to fight about it all the time.
"You realise what…what this means don't you, Michelin." Said Athena tensely, taking the attention away from between the couple.
Michelin sighed, rubbing his face.
"She's defied it twice…I know, what it means." He replied tensely.
"It's going to certainly inflate her head, even more." commented Zenia chuckling helplessly. Athena scoffed alongside.
"Do you realise, there is no one in the Coven with a mastery in fire…there hasn't been one for decades." Michelin replied looking over at the curtained bed.
There was a long pause as the family contemplated their next move.
"Do I have to leave, Aunt Athena?" Michelin asked his aunt softly, as the anger from earlier had melted away, leaving behind exhaustion.
"You know the rules, Michelin. Besides, we'll be seeing you at Christmas." Stated Athena calmly.
"I know…I just…I don't want to leave her here…like this…alone."
"She will not be alone." Piped Minerva as Athena and Michelin turned their heads to look at her.
"I will be here." Minerva added staunchly.
"Minerva…I'm sure you have better things to do than babysit an unconscious…" Athena began, but her sister cut her off.
"I. Will. Be. Here." said Minerva pointedly at her sister. Athena looked at her warningly, but Minerva simply ignored her.
"Aunt Minerva…when she does wake up…she's going to try her best to get rid of you." Michelin warned knowingly.
"Michelin, I handle teenagers on a daily basis. I think, I am capable enough to handle her." Minerva replied smiling. Michelin chuckled at her statement.
"Well then, you must be made of much stronger things than we are…" Zenia chuckled in response. Michelin let off a light chuckle as well.
"We will see you at Christmas, Michelin." Athena said softly.
"Thank you…" Michelin said gratefully, holding Minerva's hands. She smiled at her nephew kindly.
"We should probably go check in on our daughter…?" Offered Zenia as Michelin chuckled and nodded. She had been whisked away by the crowd of celebrating AIMS students. But what had happened would surely be playing on her mind. They needed to make sure their child was going to be alright.
"Professor Dumbledore, thank you for your help!" Michelin said to the man in the distance. Dumbledore looked away from Snape and bowed his head gently towards the man.
The couple then left the two sisters standing by the curtained bed.
Athena turned to her sister as she glared at her, arms crossed.
"Minerva…what are you doing?" Athena snapped, pointing out that Minerva was behaving rashly.
"Don't bother, Athena." Minerva snapped back, looking away from her sister.
"This…this is…Minerva…if you say anything…"
"I will not say anything. I'm not stupid."
"You can't even stop looking at her…like…"
"Like what…"
"Like you're going to bloody combust!"
"If I had made the right choices, Athena…perhaps I wouldn't have to."
"Minerva…you need to be careful!" Athena advised reaching a hand out to her sister. Minerva pulled back adamantly.
"I know, what I need to be, sister!"
"I am just looking out for you."
Minerva stood there in silence; her head turned to the curtained bed.
"Minerva…you know the consequences…you're only making it complicated." Athena began.
"I understand how difficult this is for you, but…" She added.
"No! No…you don't understand Athena…you will never understand." Minerva snapped loudly, as the two men now looked at the bickering sisters.
"She is my niece too!" Athena said standing straighter, her voice matching Minerva's. A loud angry shush from the matron was heard from behind the curtains.
Athena looked at her sister pitifully. Minerva looked away.
"Ladies…may I escort you to dinner?" Dumbledore asked. He had simply wanted peace, so he decided that perhaps it was best if they all went to dinner.
Athena looked at him with anger and resentment. Albus took a step back. He had been expecting her to erupt, but not here, not like this. He was not completely taken back by her attack though. He knew, he had it coming.
"You have some guts, Albus Dumbledore…some serious balls of steel!"
"ATHENA!" Minerva snapped sharply, trying to stop her sister.
"You strut around all high and mighty and act like nothing has happened. Let me put things into perspective for you…" Athena went on, tearing into him.
"Athena…please…not this…not here!" Minerva begged her sister, darting her eyes towards the potions master, who stood there listening to Athena yell at Dumbledore.
"Ridiculous! I can't believe you Minerva, what are you even doing here…with him!"
Minerva looked at her sister, her nostrils flared. She was clearly tired of being told what to do. Being the youngest of three sisters, sometimes really got to her.
"How can you live like this?!" Athena spat at her sister. Minerva looked away. She noticed Dumbledore looking at her. But she refused to participate in this conversation. She refused to bring back those horrible thoughts.
"You should have just moved to Boston with me…with us!" Athena snapped at her. She then shot a glare at Dumbledore that made him take another step back. Athena looked at him disgustedly, then she grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her out of the hospital wing.
"What was that?" Snape asked silkily, coming over to Dumbledore.
"A most disheartening and sorry tale of stupid mistakes…" He replied sighing. Snape frowned.
The Matron opened the curtains around the bed. She addressed the two men.
"Ms. Marks is stable for now. Should hopefully gain consciousness by tomorrow. I am keeping her sedated for the night, so she shouldn't be in too much pain from those burns, and a broken rib. I've patched up her knee as well. It's a miracle she's even alive though. No wonder, she's a part of that coven. She's really got some powerful magic running through her veins." said Madam Pomfrey shooting a look at the woman in the bed.
"It's been a long day for all of us…shall we go get something to eat?" Dumbledore asked. They nodded. Glancing at the sleeping woman, Snape and Madam Pomfrey, followed Dumbledore out of the hospital wing.
AN/- Do leave a review and let me know your thoughts. Thanks!