Different

constellations

It wasn't fair how fast something beautiful and pure could be destroyed to nothing but ashes. Claire stood in what had been the field of wildflowers that she shared with Leo, but there was nothing left. Not a single flower or sign of life, only ashes and a faint clap of thunder as a storm grew closer. 

"I've missed you."

Claire gasped and ran into the strong arms that she had began to miss. Leo held her closer, placing a kiss on the top of her head. Neither teen released the other, both of them needing the comfort. Leo picked her up and spun her around, letting Claire give him a koala hug. Once he put her down, she immediately went into protective mode. 

"Where have you been?" Claire asked worriedly, furrowing her eyebrows at the boy. She finally took in his worn down appearance and frowned. He was barely wearing any clothes and they were dirty and ripped. His hair had been roughly chopped into a buzzcut and he was covered in bruises. A large scar went across from his left temple to his eye, recent enough that it was still red. 

"Emaline took me that night," Leo explained, sitting in the ashes. Claire followed suit, sitting across from him so that she didn't miss a single word. "She found me somehow and tortured me. When I wouldn't tell her where you were, she looked into my head and found it when I was too weak to fight her."

"I knew it wasn't your fault," Claire assured him, noticing the way his shoulders and jaw tensed up. He gave her a small smile in return, but she could see that he still blamed himself. 

"She kept me locked up for months," Leo continued. "She would take my blood every week and drink it to gain more powers. Without my blood, she would look close to death. That's the only reason she didn't kill me."

"So she needs the blood of a Moon Child to live?" Claire gasped, feeling almost relieved by that. If her mother couldn't find a Moon Child, she might die and Claire would only have to worry about Voldemort. 

"It seems that way," Leo sighed, running his hand through the ashes. "She knows where the pack lives now. I can't get in contact with anyone because I don't know where I am, so it might be too late."

"She made it seem like she was so powerful now," Claire muttered. 

"She is still a threat," Leo said forcefully, his face intense. "She's still unnaturally strong and powerful, but she's reliant on blood now. She gains powers from whoever's blood she drinks, which means that she now knows where you are at any point in time. I'm so sorry, Claire."

"I don't blame you," Claire repeated, leaning forward so Leo would look her in the eyes. "None of this is your fault."

Leo scoffed and shook his head. 

"I was charged with protecting you and I failed."

"Please, come home," Claire pleaded. 

"I tried," Leo sighed, running his hand over his head. He frowned when he felt the short hair and Claire assumed that it wasn't his decision to give himself such a horrible haircut. "They have so many protective spells around the house that I couldn't even touch the property line. I apparated away and I've been gone ever since. I don't even know what country I'm in right now."

"I'll tell my dads," Claire decided. 

"It's too late for me, Claire," Leo said softly. "I'll be back eventually, but I need to find my own way back."

"But I miss you. I need you," Claire argued, tears filling her eyes. Leo gave her his signature smirk, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. 

"I'll always be in your dreams."

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"What the fuck is an Aragog?"