QLFC, Chaser 2, Round 1

Main Prompt - Write about an argument or conflict that has massive consequences

Optional Prompts - (au) outlaw, (dialogue) "There's nothing you can do. It's over.", (relationship) siblings

Warnings - character death (major), guns

Word Count - 1822

"It'll have to be a duel, me and him."

"You can't mean it."

"I must."

Ariana stared up at her big brother across the bartop with a frown so deep she thought she may never grin again. "He is our brother, Aberforth."

"He is a wanted man," Aberforth grunted back, and then, more pointedly, "and he is a heathen, if the rumors are true, which I have no doubt. He was always talking of sorcery before he left with that German. Plans to seek treasures of power, he said, remember? He has lost his way, and the people of this town cannot abide such blatant devilry. So I must be the one to confront him, as he will listen to no others. And I can't afford to lose my standing in The Hollow to cowardice and partiality–"

"Oh, partiality," Ariana repeated, tongue sharp and poisonous. "How awful to be partial to a beloved brother. Woe to those who might be partial to a man who raised them when they were orphaned too young and sickly to survive without him," she spat. Ariana raised glacier blue eyes to meet Aberforth's for a moment, before softening them, a plea forming in the crease between her brows. "He came back to see me– us. And he came alone. Without Gellert at his side. Maybe he's come to his senses. Take pity, brother–"

"On a criminal?!"

"On me!"

Aberforth choked back any further retort, looked aside, and took a deep breath with palms splayed wide on the bartop. It was nearly midday and soon The Hog's Head would be filling with patrons, so Ariana took one last chance to stop her brother from enacting his plans with Albus by gently laying one hand over his.

"Please. Please, just… just one night, Aberforth. Before you go to the Sheriff with his whereabouts, let Alby just have one last night with his family. Let me have one last night with my brother."

Aberforth sighed again, exhaustion written plainly across his face. "He doesn't deserve it."

"Maybe not," Ariana admitted. She squeezed Aberforther's fingers until he looked up at her again. "But… maybe we do?" she endeavored, a half smile forming at the corner of her lips.

Aberforth rolled his eyes, but when next he met his sister's gaze he nodded and grunted, and Ariana's smile grew whole.

Their house was warm. A fire roared in the fireplace and the stew in their bowls were steaming steadily. Two of the three siblings were smiling, and Aberforth had thought his consistent frown might have kept the night's proceedings grounded in realism.

He was wrong.

Albus's dinner conversation was as chipper and fantastical as it was before he left them for adventures with renowned outlaw Gellert Grindelwald. And Ariana was eating up every word her eldest brother spoke as if he were still Godric Hollow's rising star, a man destined to be the next town physician or court judge (there was even talk of him running for mayor at one point for chrissake!). For a long while Aberforth simply let the charade go on, but the longer it continued, the more he regretted letting this night happen at all.

"...and the cavern almost collapsed from underneath us. A trap, if you can believe it. And then wouldn't you know, the whole trek was for naught since the jewel had already been stolen when we got there! A fake was in its place!"

Aberforth pinched the bridge of his nose and without really meaning to, but without regret, uttered, "Stop talking."

Aberforth could physically see Albus struggle to cling to the last bit of lightness in the room, but the wet blanket Aberforth threw over the proceedings was quickly suffocating. The warmth from the fire became unbearable. Aberforth felt it claw at him, cloying in his throat.

"Aberforth, look, I–"

"You left us." Aberforth said it simply, matter-of-factly. There was no emotion there, despite the emotionality of the statement. "You broke our laws and left Ariana and me to pick up all the pieces of this life and try to make a home here without you. And we did. We did."

"Aberforth," pleaded Ariana.

"No," countered Aberforth, his gaze never drifting from Albus's sanctimonious blue eyes staring back at him. "No. This act is done. I'm not having it. Do you hear me? I'm not having it!"

Albus let his spoon of stew drop back into his bowl and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He cleared his throat. "What I did–"

"What you did was steal and cheat the people of this town to help a convict escape justice. A murderer! And then you show back up here, without him, with fun stories involving this man like neither of you did anything wrong–"

"Wrong? Right? I see no difference in the pursuit of the greater good."

Albus's eyes shone with purpose and glory. It made Aberforth sick. He rose from the table, steady and solid. He had purpose, too.

"I may not be a clever man, like you, Albus." Aberforth pounded his fist against his chest. "But I know that right and wrong are what keeps the earth spinnin'. And I know that your attitude disgusts me. And I know a con-man when I meet one. And Gellert Grindelwald is a disgusting con-man who has led my great brother to do wrong." Aberforth pushed their rickety table towards Albus, trapping him between it and the back of his chair. Aberforth leaned over into Albus's face, hands splayed wide over the tabletop. "You may find me a simple man, but I assure you, simple is all I've ever wanted to be. Your confusion makes you weak-willed and dangerous, Albus, and I will not have that energy in my town again. So tomorrow, I will meet you in a duel or I will not meet you again, you hear me?"

Albus blinked a few times until his eyes cleared and he dared to reach out a hand to cover his younger brother's with it. "Aberforth–"

Aberforth pulled his hands back, stood up to his full height, and turned away from the table. "I said to stop talking. G'night."

When he was in his room, he shut his door tightly, pulled the seat out from under his desk and the gun from his drawer and set to cleaning.

He expected to see Albus in the morning. He had little doubts about it.

Albus pulled the ring from his pocket with a smile. The early dawn was quiet and empty, save three siblings standing in the garden outside their home, preparing to duel. Albus squeezed the ring and gave his sister a reassuring nod when she met his gaze.

"How can you be so calm?" she hissed.

The corner of his mouth twisted up into a knowing smirk. "I've learned much on my travels, little sister. Try not to worry about this outcome. All will be well. You'll see."

Ariana shook her head, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth as she looked back at Aberforth who methodically checked the chamber of his pistol for the dozenth time that morning. When Aberforth slid the barrel into place and finished cocking the gun, he looked up at Albus with dead eyes. Albus had enough anxiety left in him to flinch, but he recovered himself quickly, slipping the ring he coveted back into his pocket knowing it would soon solve everything.

"Ready?" asked Albus, chipper.

Aberforth frowned and said nothing.

"Don't back out on me now, little brother," Albus teased.

The frown deepened. "You shouldn't have returned."

Albus shrugged. "Maybe."

Aberforth shook his head, resigned. "Bewitched. That's what you are. And I can't abide that to continue."

"Then let's get on with it," Albus suggested. "Ten paces?"

Aberforth turned his back without further comment or hesitation. Albus spun on his heel to match him. Standing back to back, Albus called the count. "One, two, three, four…"

Each step only raised Albus's spirits. This was it. Three more steps and his family would finally see why he had to leave, why he had to save Gellert from the gallows. Two more steps. One.

Albus's shot rang out across the garden he and his siblings played in as children… and the bullet struck right through Ariana's chest. She had leapt between the two brothers at the last second.

The shock of seeing his sister fall to the ground like a ragdoll surged through every muscle in Albus's body, and for a moment all he could do was watch as Aberforth let his gun fall forgotten and inconsequential in order to sprint unimpeded to Ariana's prone form, her chest spasming and bloody in the grass.

"Jesus," gasped Albus as he finally found his legs, all earlier confidence draining out of him as he dashed to her side. "What– why– what–" He glanced up at the sky and blinked away the image of his dying sister, so that he could focus. "You're not gonna die. You're not gonna die," he repeated when he finally looked back down at her. "See. I've got magic."

Albus pulled the ring from his pocket and held it up to her unfocused eyes. Then he opened her palm and placed the ring in it, putting his own hand over hers to trap the ring between them. "It's a resurrection stone, Ari," he began to explain, but his voice was weaker than he expected. He tried to carry on. "All the adventures, everything I did, was to obtain this. It works, I've seen it. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen when it worked and I had to come home to show you. Ariana, are you listening? Ari, look at me, look at me. Just look at me. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna… You're gonna… you're…"

Aberforth leaned over and kissed his still sister on the forehead, and then he leaned back on his haunches until he couldn't lean anymore and let himself fall onto his behind, his face hidden behind one large working hand.

"Why isn't– why– I don't… I don't understand. I've seen this work. I've seen it–" Albus hiccupped, a sob threatening to emerge, but he just held it back. "It was beautiful. I can… I can still save her. I can–"

"There's nothing you can do," said Aberforth. "It's over. It's over."

"What are you talking about?! It's not over. It can't be. I've seen it work, with my own eyes, I've seen it–"

"Bewitched," muttered Aberforth, and for the first time, Albus let that idea sink in.

"Am I?" he choked.

Aberforth let his hand fall from his face and he looked up at Albus with a steely gaze. "You were. Not sure if you are now."

Albus sat back on his boots and pinched the ring out of Ariana's pale hand, raising it to his eyes, wet with tears.

"Oh God, what have I done?"