'We're all broken, but, that's how the light gets in'
-Ernest Hemingway
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Afternoon sun leaked into the office in gleaming rays, exposing the small, floating dust particles to view. It was still. His trinkets glowed, reflecting the light: the globes, the telescopes, the magical inventions. The Headmaster's face was grim. His worn face, wrinkled with time, held only pity, weary eyes sympathetic as they studied the boy's expression; his reaction. It didn't make Harry feel any better, his teeth clenched, wishing the older, wiser man would look away. His voice was gentle, calm—too calm—how could he be calm when the weight of the world is tipping from his shoulders, when the ground is crumbling from beneath his feet?
"Her dark magic is... untamed. As it grows in power, it also grows in agitation. It must be doing something with all of its energy—and I believe the only reason it hasn't yet fully attacked, far from our control, is because it is doing something when she isn't encased into its form."
The words had blown away from Harry's understanding, his reach, too distant to catch—nothing was making sense.
"What're you saying?"
"I ask you to sit down, Harry."
The sixteen-year-old gradually did as spoken, the elder man moving slowly, so slowly, to the circular window, opening it. The sky was clear, the air fresh as it brushed in from the gap. The forest rang with birdsong.
It was a nice day—the nicest in weeks, but Harry could hardly enjoy it: the leaves translucent as the setting sun hit them, the gentle ripples of the black lake and the vivid-green grass. A moroseness creeped into his head, heavy and familiar as the Headmaster seemed to delay his response, tentative, only making Harry's knee bounce faster and his heart thump harder. Dumbledore didn't meet his eyes, mindlessly staring into the distance beyond the glass.
"She is ill, Harry. Terminally." His heart stops. "Adeline's dark magic is ultimately, though slowly, killing her."
He felt that, like a rock hitting the windshield. The on-contact snap stuns you, but then comes the slow-motion horror a moment later as the glass splinters. The initial impact happened, and now it carves a line, splitting right through him. He temporarily bows his head, watching but not really watching his fiddling hands upon his lap.
"How long?" Harry acquiesced, voice crackly. His present reality has detached, slowly floating away like a child's lost balloon. Nothing makes sense. Nothing seems real anymore.
"It isn't certain," Dumbledore's voice is dark, as though he's already mourning her death—as though she isn't in the common room, waiting for his return, unbeknownst to the heartache for her, brimming the office. "But we believe she has until the start of July, at the very latest. Ten months."
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Addie knew she was sick. She'd been looking forward to her classes, especially Charms, but apparently her headache was too high of a symptom, the countless tests and checks from Madame Pomphrey lasting her entire first day back. The woman had grown to be like a mentor for her, given she couldn't seem to last a week without at least one visit to the Hospital Wing. She was someone Ad could tell anything to—her worries, her fears.
By now, she knew the Hospital Wing better than any other room in Hogwarts: the carvings on the pillars, how the bed frames slightly differed in shades of cream, which drawers held which potions. But now the woman had this sorrowful look after the tests she seemed to continuously redo, seemingly hoping for a different outcome.
He loved her company. It didn't matter if they talked or not; they could spend hours together not speaking and he'd still be comfortable. He needed these times more than ever, now. Every second he could spare should be a second spent with her.
The two rounded a corner, Harry already leading them back to the common room, even if curfew wasn't for another hour at least. She hadn't even seen the stars yet—not properly, anyway. Why bother walking all this way if they weren't even going to the Astronomy Tower?
Just as another corner approached, Harry averted his gaze to a nearby window. There were very few, faint stars from the clouds, sparks of varying sizes flaring in the distance on the shield as Death Eaters continually attacked. The shield was a dome, covering the entirety of Hogwarts and its grounds as an act of protection against the darkness beyond—like a locked car, people could leave, but they couldn't come back in. Though their countless doses of curses and spells, the barrier remained unscathed.
Harry absentmindedly continued to peer through the windows as he passed them, each one showing only a glimpse of the chaos. However, as he looked through the next, he caught eye of his reflection and stopped abruptly. His neck cracked as it lurched in trepidation to his left.
Adeline was gone.
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Big, fat drops of rain landed on the grounds, a murmur in the night as they plummeted from the sky to the lake, the all familiar smell of it soaking into the grass and pavement. It took him a moment to see her, squinting his eyes as they adjusted to the dark. Students weren't permitted to be outside at night—that's forever been a rule, but the main entrance, a towering door that, when in lockdown, borders itself with large wooden planks, never used to lock at night. However, it seemed that Adeline had opened it with ease through a flick of her wrist, her silhouette receding as she disappeared into the dark, a good twenty-metres ahead.
He trailed after slowly, remaining cautious through his confusion. It almost looked like she was sleepwalking, though her movements were mildly robotic, always the same steps in terms of length, arms limp by her sides like she was under someone's control; their spell, but her 'monster form' was nowhere in sight. Harry was far behind her, so it was a struggle to sprint over as he realised where she was going. Dozens of sparks hit the shield as she walked closer and closer.
"ADDIE, STOP!"
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a/n:
heh.
Sorry it took so long to update! I didn't think it would for this chapter, but oh well.
thank you all sooo much for reading! I appreciate all your comments and votes on both Trust and Her, they don't go unnoticed :)
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p.s:
(warnings + notices)
-'angels' follows very loosely around half-blood prince. the things that have happened in canon in the movie are still a thing in this book, however i don't really mention it.
(trigger warning!)
idk if any/everyone has noticed, but the tag 'noose' is under this book. i'd just like to quickly note that this book does not involve a suicide, even if the dialogue in the blurb of 'Her' may suggest it, there is none. however, there are parts to do with a hangman's noose (that's its proper name) so heads up for that.
