Chapter 10 - Live and Let Live

Some people long for a life that is simple and planned

Tied with a ribbon

Some people won't sail the sea 'cause they're safer on land

To follow what's written

But I'd follow you to the great unknown

Off to a world we call our own

The Greatest Showman (Pasek/Paul) - Tightrope

On a sandy beach that seemed to stretch on into the unknown, a young boy ran giggling with delight through the long grass that led to the seashore. The boy was being chased by a woman with wild dark hair, streaks of silver turning to a golden hue in the mid-afternoon sun, her years hidden behind the ravishing smile that crossed her lips as she grabbed the ecstatic child and swung him in mid-air. The joy radiating from both was making the world around seem warmer, a more idyllic place to live. The boy's hair changed wildly from the same colour of his grandmother to a vibrant neon pink, and then to a more muted brown, and followed this pattern as he was tickled and raspberried to his utter delight.

Andromeda held the boy close to her and sighed as he settled in to watch the sunset, their nightly tradition since he had been a babe. She ruffled his wild hair and kissed his head as she gently rocked him, this being the sure fire way of guaranteeing him sleeping through the night. She thought over the poor luck of someone so young, how she was not the woman who truly should be sitting here. She missed being able to talk the darkness that always flowed in a Black out with her wonderful husband. Ted had been gone for some time now, and not a passing day went by without her heart calling to him, reassuring him that she would join him when she was ready. Sometimes, in the darkest moments, she heard him with her, speaking to her and soothing her, letting her know she had a long way to go and he would always love her, and that she needed to move on, they would see each other again soon enough.

Teddy wiggled and clutched a lock of his grandmother's hair as the sun slowly sank and turned a brilliant orange. To match, he made his hair turn a midnight blue, giggling as he felt his grandmother ruffle and kiss his hair. He wished his mummy and daddy could be here, but he knew deep down they were always there for him. Grandmother had showed him the moving pictures, and told him all the stories about his hero daddy who was a werewolf, and his amazing mummy who was a polymorph, like him. How they had saved the world, and how they had loved each other with all their hearts. Teddy had a special blanket Grandmother had made him, and although it now was a bit small from when he was a baby, he kept with him every night. Grandmother said that the love of his parents were woven into every single stitch of that blanket, and so he held it as sacred.

Andromeda started to feel the lethargy of a long day, tiredness creeping in as the evening chill fell on her, and she realised Teddy had fallen sound asleep, just as expected. It was then she felt a secondary shiver, and her first instinct was the hold her wand tightly as she positioned Teddy comfortably over her shoulder. She had heard an unfamiliar noise, a sniff that had almost been inaudible if not for the peaceful rhythm of the sea at night being the only other sound for the past hour. She lifted herself slowly and turned towards the sound, instantly dropping wand and, almost, dropping her charge in the shock. The sniff had been part of clearly a collection of sobs of the most agonising nature. She looked to the source and her heart, that had been loosely patched together with the unconditional love she had for her grandson, felt a sharp tug as more shards were wrought together with a new and powerful cord. She let out a single, loud sob before picking up her wand and putting it away. It was not needed now.

For a moment, two figures, one holding a sleeping toddler in their arms, the other holding theirs open with a look that was somewhere between fearful and jubilant. Within the blink of an eye, with the crescent moon beaming brightly now, turning the beaches gold into a palid silver that glistened against the now calm sea, the two figures inched closer, before becoming merged in a warm embrace. Andromeda's sudden movement roused the sleeping Teddy, who now found himself somewhat crushed between two adults. He yelped, and instantly they parted, tears glistening on their cheeks. Teddy reached up and wiped a tear from his Grandmother's face. He looked perplexed, not understanding why she was crying and smiling at the same time. Suddenly, he heard a voice that had been continually talking alongside his Grandmother, and he followed the voice to the man who stood in front of him. He looked so familiar, and he even smelled like his blanket. Sometimes, in his dreams, Teddy had played with his daddy, they had gone for picnics and had played football in the garden, or he had been reading him a bedtime story before tucking him in and wishing him goodnight with a kiss on the forehead. Teddy knew this man before him, he knew in his very soul, and that comprehension within a small child is resolute. It did not waiver.

From within the embrace of his Grandmother, there came a sound so riveting that Remus could hardly breath. He tilted his head back, the beast within him rising to the surface in a rush of love and pride. Home. His pack. He had found them again and they had accepted him. He was where he needed to be, and he thanked every deity he could summon, and thanks his darling Dora, for giving him such a golden opportunity. He let his emotions flow freely, never fearing judgement. As his son continued to make the sound that had alerted him, both man and beast felt it rude not to join him.

That night, many who lived close to the shore could have sworn, and did swear when bumping into each other whilst gardening, or whilst wandering around Tesco, or during the local school fete, that they had heard the most eerie of sounds coming from the darkened shoreline. Many said it must have been a freak gust of wind, and brushed it off, moving on to their usual daily tasks. Some of the busy hamlet's bees, however, would swear that they had heard the sound of not one, but two wolves howling into the chillingly iridescent nights sky, a single cloud skimming over a waxing moon.

_o0o_

There was a hissing, a low, continuous release of air into the night's quiet. No one was there to here it. The noise resembled a thousand snakes writhing over a pit of microphones. It was an unearthly noise, with the effect of nails scraping slowly down a chalkboard. The forest around it had stilled in wake of the alien entity. What was left of the larger inhabitants had crept towards the sound, and found nothing more than a ring upon the ground, a strange glow of deepest crimson emanating from the ground, casting eerie shadows across the mushrooms that had sprouted to solidify the ring. The earth around the ring seemed to shimmer, as if it were coated in gemstones, and the air crackled with the power being ripped from it's very heart. Faster than the eye can comprehend, the ring burst into violent violet flames, purging the oppressiveness in the air and searing a path towards the forest canopy, ethereal tendrils licking out to taste the fresh air.

After years of searching, finally, they had found an entrance. A rip back into the mortal world, powered by an unknown, powerful and dark magic. It had been culminating for years, almost biding its time, cultivating the land around it and forming the faerie ring upon the very earth that had taken it hostage. What a kind and considerate host for it to rise once more. For those keen to take hold of the power and possess it, the darkness of the magic swelled and provided the means, all it need do is await it's final summons. Through the desperation, despair, hatred, bigotry and longing of those who sought it out it fed, leeching any source of light it could from the already tainted souls.

From the blazing body of flames, figures began to emerge, ranging from the terrifying and monstrous to the arousing and alluring, the sensual, seductive, and some certainly insane. They stood in the clearing, not a sound from the forest. Their footfalls were silent, and they seemed to blend and meld to the landscape perfectly. As the final figure slipped through the portal, the flames extinguished, leaving a thin trail of smoke into the nights sky. The group now looked beyond the clearing, through the dense wood, draining the power from the surroundings, using and abusing the earth. It came upon the turrets of a formidable castle, lights flickering to to match those of the stars in the heavens.

In that moment, that which the Forbidden Forest had tried with all it's might to keep caged had been unleashed. For the first time in so many years, the entire forest shuddered, sending a thunderous message to it's companion, the castle. A cold shiver ran up the spine of Severus Snape, who tossed and turned in a broken sleep, as he did most nights. For, upon receiving the missive, the castle had, for an instant, quaked in fear.