Aurelia Black

Chapter 23 The Spare

The graveyard was surrounded by darkness all around it. The deafening silence was deadly. It made her skin itch. Suddenly she heard some noise coming from North. Her feet took her towards the sound. Something was happening. Something very wrong. She knew this place was going to rob her of something. She would loose either her life or her sanity today. The mad rush she made took her to a clearing.

There was a large statue with people around it. On further glance she could see a cloaked man. Her body shivered. He was evil. His aura spoke of impending death. Then she saw two young boys. One was with spectacles and he was bleeding. He looked scared . The other boy was tall and his features showed his fear, confusion and fighting spirit. She could not breathe anymore. Her feet had frozen to the ground. Her eyes stuck at the tall boy. He meant something to her. She couldn't put her finger on it but he was important. Very important and she was deadly scared for his safety.

The cloaked man had an accomplice with him. This person was short, stout and had crooked features. His face screamed his cruelness. The silence ended once the cloaked person gave an ominous order, "Kill the spare. "

Aurelia felt her soul had left her body when the short man pointed his wand towards the tall boy.Suddenly the boy looked in her direction. Their eyes made contact for a split second. He was shocked to see her there. Lia stopped breathing and the boy opened his mouth to say something. Just then she heard the short man speaking the deadly words and with it her world ended. The green light pierced the darkness and engulfed the boy with it.

Aurelia suddenly woke up screaming at the top of her voice. Her screams ended the silence. Ethan woke up in a second and quickly grabbed his wand to eliminate the threat. He quickly said a light charm and the room was no longer dark. Upon quick inspection he realised there was no intruder and then saw his wife still screaming in shock. Grabbing her shoulders he shook her to bring her out of her stupor. Lia was no longer in her senses. She kept screaming "Not him, not him", as if her world has been stolen from her. She was grieving for what he didn't know.

Crouching in front of her Ethan loudly said, "Lia, Lia wake up. Baby , it was a dream. Lia open your eyes. " He kept shaking her shoulders to wake her up and Aurelia kept screaming as if she was being crucified. Tears kept rolling down her eyes. Her voice became scratchy.

Ethan quickly said a silencing spell for their room and finally grabbed her face in between his palms. "Aurelia Walburga Diggory. Wake up this instant. Aurelia. It's me Ethan. It was a dream. Nothing was real. You are okay. Everything is okay honey. Please. Please, " he cried. Suddenly Lia stopped. Her eyes flew open wide. She struggled to breathe.

"Ethan... Ethan..., " she could hardly speak.. Her breathe was breaking and it felt as if she was having a seizure. Ethan held her hands tightly. He was beyond scared now. "Lia, calm down. Feel my heart love. Feel my heartbeat. Calm down. You are safe. You are safe. Baby, look at me. Yes. Follow my voice. Feel my heartbeat. " He tried to control her erratic breathing but Lia suddenly  rolled her eyes back and was unconscious in a moment. Her head lolled back to Ethan's chest. The man held his wife tightly and tried to slap her cheeks lightly. "Lia, Lia.. Honey, please dont do this. Wake up. Lia. " He tried to sprinkle some water on her face but nothing happened.

Aurelia was shaking in his arms and he felt utterly helpless. Remembering he was in hogwarts, the man quickly dressed them both in proper attire and sent a patronus to Poppy. Lifting Lia in a bridal style he quickly left for the infirmary with with wand in his pockets.

The entire way he kept glancing at his wife worriedly. She was unconscious and shivering. Her hands were fisted around his T-shirt.

It was around 2 in the night and Professor Snape could not sleep. Perhaps few memories wouldn't let him to have some peace of mind. Lamenting himself for not keeping some extra sleeping potions by his bedside he was just coming back from the dungeons to his chamber. Seeing Professor Diggory carrying his wife through the corridors he couldn't control his ire and said,
"Being a professor yourself one would expect atleast a little bit of decency. But alas, people now a days have forgotten the purity of school. "

Already out of his wits, Ethan turned to the man with blazing eyes and seethed, "Not now. Snape. Just not now. " He then quickly adjusted Lia and turned back towards the clinic. Snape was rooted in his place. Never had he seen the Diggory boy in such a state. He realized the couple weren't out on a romantic stroll as he had originally perceived. Infact the woman was most certainly unconscious. Against his better judgement he decided to follow the two.

Ethan quickly bought his wife to Poppy who was ready with her potions. Upon seeing her favourite couple in such a devastating state her heart broke. "Lay her here Ethan. Let me check her. "
Poppy tried to take Lia's palm in her hand but the woman had a death grip on her husband's t- shirt.

"Let me, " said Ethan and softly opened Lia's closed fingers one by one. Kissing her palm he gave her hand to Poppy. He was still crouched over Lia on the bed since she was not letting him go. He gently brushed her hairs and tried to call her name. The shivering still didn't end. Ethan kept kissing her forehead and looked at Poppy with hope. Understanding his unsaid words Poppy said, "she is in shock. You said she had a nightmare. There must have been something which had lead to this trauma. I'll give her a sleeping draught. Once she'll have a peaceful rest, her body can recover from this. "

Soon she fed Aurelia the potion which finally ceased her shivers. Ethan couldn't stop his tears anymore. He kept himself bent over her upper body and rubbed her tear stained cheeks lovingly. "You'll be okay my love.I'm right here with you. You are not alone. Do you hear me? Your husband is right here and I'm not going anywhere. Just sleep and we will talk in the morning. Just take rest now love. " He kept saying in her ears in a comforting voice.

Snape had witnessed the entire scene and was left shocked. He could not tear his eyes away from such intimate moment between his colleagues.

Poppy too was speechless. Ethan was someone who was never seen without a smile on his face. And Aurelia, well the girl was his life. She couldn't understand what the boy must be going through at the moment. Keeping her hand in his shoulder in silent support she told him to not worry. They were going to keep Aurelia in the infirmary for the night. Ethan refused to leave his wife's side. He knew Snape had followed them.Turning towards the professor he simply asked him to return back and ensure that none of the students should get a wisp of this news. The two kids would be worried beyond reason and he was not in the right frame to think about them anymore. Excusing himself Snape finally left with a heavy chest.

Lia was now still. Ethan decided to join her on her bed and laid on his side to bring her tight against his chest. Poppy had already left and had drawn the curtains around their bed to give the couple privacy. Ethan tiredly put his head on his wife's shoulder. Few drops of tears escaped his eyes. He had never felt so helpless before. His wife was screaming and withering in his arms and he was so weak. He could do nothing to soothe her. He couldn't protect her. He felt like the biggest failure on earth. Suddenly he heard his wife's voice. It was very faint and scratchy. But he could hear her calling his name. He knew her dreams were better now. Finally feeling some peace he decided to rest his eyes while keeping a tight hold over his wife . No harm would come to her from now was the last thing in his mind before he drifted off to sleep.

✨ Wow. It's been too long .. Life just became too busy but fret not, this story is not being abandoned.
Till now things were going too vanilla. We needed some spark right. It's Harry Potter universe. We need to stay with the story 😃.
Do tell how was this chapter. Comment your favorite part.

Happy Reading ❤
Happy Chhatt to fellow Indian readers🙏
1504 words✨