In Pain's Shadow //Hogwarts Legacy//

What isn't fair

"You can't hide from me." The girl grinned as she searched for the child. She noticed a tiny head peak out from behind the well in the center of the hamlet. Her grin grew wider as she snuck to the wall next to the tiny hamlet's water source, ready to pounce. "Oh well," she sighed. "I guess I give up. Looks like she's gotten away this time. Giggling came from behind the well. The girl snuck up to it, managing to sneak behind the child. She wrapped her arms around the small child who squealed in response. "Gotcha!" She cried.

"Anne!" The child cried as she struggled to get out of her arms. "I almost won." She pouted as Anne released her.

"Oh you weren't even close to winning, Mary. Perhaps next time you should do better." She teased as she turned and began walking. Mary chased behind her, looking up at the older girl. Anne laughed, patting Mary on the head. "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad!" Mary cried. They walked together up the hill, resting in front of a grave of a house elf. At the bottom of the hill was a small camp. Ranrok's Loyalists had set up camp there. Mary shivered and hugged herself closer to Anne. "Father says they're dangerous."

"They are." Responded Anne. "But they don't attack without reason. So stay as far away from them as you can and they won't hurt you." She reassured the child.

"I'm afraid." Mary admitted. "What do they want from this place? It's just our home, why is it so special to them?"

"I can't be sure." Anne watched as two of the loyalists spoke, pointing at the estate above the hamlet. "So do as I say, or something bad could happen." Her tone was a little too harsh. Anne didn't want to scare the girl, she just wanted to warn her of the dangers of the loyalists.

"Anne, what're you two doing?" Anne turned to see her brother approaching. She pursed her lips and silently cursed herself for being so close to the loyalists. Sebastian will give her hell for this. "Mary, your mother is looking for you. Run along now."

"Okay. Bye Anne!" The child called as she ran off back towards the hamlet.

"You're too close." Sebastian crossed his arms as he looked down at his twin sister. Anne was troublesome, Sebastian was protective. That's how the twins were with each other. That's how they'd always be.

Anne rolled her eyes and stood up, wiping the dirt off her dress. "I'm just watching them dig for whatever buried treasure they are seeking. It's not as if I'm speaking with them." She smirked. "Though I may have to antagonize them just once."

"Absolutely not!"

"Oh please, Sebastian, just this one time."

"You'll get yourself killed, or worse." Sebastian noticed that the loyalists had heard them arguing and had turned their attention to them. Scowling at their presence. "They've seen us."

"Sebastian, Anne!" Cried their uncle from the distance. "Dinner!" He announced before slamming the door shut behind him.

The twins grabbed hands and began to walk back to their home. Sebastian could feel that something was off about Anne. He turned to look at her, giving her a questioning glance as she sighed. "I worry for uncle Solomon. We'll be returning to Hogwarts soon and the loyalists are getting closer to Feldcroft. What if they... what if they hurt him?"

"He's an ex Auror, Anne. He knows how to fight. Even though he won't look into what they are doing here. He'll be okay." Sebastian answered softly.

"Mary is afraid of the loyalists." Anne frowned. She felt bad for the girl. She was only 10, no child should have to fear being attacked. Anne's heart ached for the little girl next door who didn't understand why this world had so much evil in it.

*****

Tears trickled down Anne's face as she recalled the night before she was cursed. It was the last time she played with little Mary. She wished she could have spoken with the girl more after she was cursed. A mere "hello" or "how are you" was all that they had spoken to each other since then. Anne didn't get out much since coming under the weather. Other than the other day with Aya, this was the longest she had spent outside.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. She knew who it was but didn't wish to turn and speak with him. Not yet. Instead she continued to sob over the the three newly dug graves. Rain poured down, drenching the girl.

Mary Spencer
1880-1890

"It isn't fair." Anne sobbed. "What did she do wrong? Why did they have to hurt her?" The night before, dark wizards and loyalists broke into Mary's home. It was unknown why they did it, all that was known was that little Mary and her family had been killed by the intruders. "They didn't even give her a chance."

"I'm sorry about your friend." Solomon spoke. He wasn't the best at sending condolences to others. He wasn't the best at emotions at all truthfully.

"No you're not." Anne said through gritted teeth. Something inside her snapped. She was far from pleased with her uncle. She suddenly felt as if she and Sebastian had become one. She felt his anger. "You have refused to look into why the goblins are here! You're supposed to protect and you haven't! You couldn't protect Mary and her parents! You couldn't keep looking for a cure for me! Just admit that you don't care!" She couldn't see through her tears.

"Anne," Solomon spoke softly, "none of us saw what was going to happen to the Spencer's. And you know as good as I that there is no cure."

She had balled her fists. People were beginning to watch the argument. "You're wrong! If you would've looked into the goblin presence you would've been able to stop them from killing her. And Sebastian found a spell book! An ancient spell book that has information about curses." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "You never loved us. You never cared."

Anne immediately fell to her knees and cried out in pain. She grabbed at her stomach as the excruciating pain traveled throughout her body. She gasped for air and her uncle knelt beside her and rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry." She rasped.

"Of course I care." He responded. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't. You and your brother are my family, my world. I would be lost without you." Solomon frowned. Anne's words hurt. They sounded very similar to the last words his own brother had spoken to him before he passed.

"You don't care! You don't love them!"

That was what his brother had said to him the night before he died. He thought about those words a lot. Sebastian liked to remind him of that. In Solomon's eyes, Sebastian used to be very mature for his age. That boy meant a lot to him. Even if he had grown immature in the past few months. Sebastian was a lot like his father.

"You're nothing but your father's son."

It was Anne that used to cause him trouble. Always receiving notes from her professors about the mischief she had caused or what she was in detention for. He sometimes relied on Sebastian to keep her in line. Her curse changed her. It changed all of them. Anne was quieter, stayed home more often, stopped speaking with the other residents. Sebastian was stubborn, believed there was a cure, got in trouble more often. Solomon was angrier, and he knew it as well.

There was no cure. Maybe he had given up hope. Maybe Sebastian was right, they hadn't tried everything. Of course he hoped that there would be something, something to bring Anne back to her usual self. The reality was, however, that nothing was going to change what had happened to her. Nothing could cure her.

"Let's go home." He helped Anne to her feet. As they walked, he thought about what Anne had said. About the spell book that Sebastian had supposedly found. "Tell me more about this spell book that Sebastian has."

Before Anne could speak, an explosion sounded from behind them. Screams came from the distance as residents ran off in different directions. From the smoke, dozens of goblins ran towards them, weapons drawn. Solomon shoved Anne behind him. "Get inside!" He cried, drawing his wand.

Anne tried to run to the house but was immediately surrounded by goblins. She aimed her wand at them, hands shaking. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Bombarda!" Anne fell to the ground as the blast knocked the goblins away. She turned to see Aya holding her hand out for her. "Are you hurt?" She asked.

"No." Anne replied as she took Aya's hand. She smiled as Sebastian came into view. Her brother and friend had come to help.