✓ | RECKLESS AND BRAVE | Draco Malfoy

34 | HAMARTIA

HAMARTIA
(n.) fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

EVEN WHEN HER BROTHER WAS CRYING, SHE DIDN'T UTTER A SOUND. There was panic that ensued in the house, her father trying to give last minute instructions to his wife. She sat there on the floor near the crib, trying to reach her fingers between the gaps and hold her brother's small hand comfortingly.

     She watched as her stepmother picked up her brother and tried to hide him somewhere in the house. Her father turned to her and gave her that crooked grin of his that made her feel safe. But this time — it was filled with a sort of melancholy she couldn't put her finger on.

     "Tessie," he whispered in a voice that he tried not to show he was frightened. He lifted her in his arms, holding her tight as he said, "Dad's got you, okay? There's nothing to be scared of. Don't worry — everything will be alright." He walked into the dining room where he put her down on the rug before the fireplace. "You need to listen to Dad very carefully, okay? Someone very bad is trying to take you away from me — you and your brother both. I'm going to try and stop him while Aunt Lily, you, and Harry are all going somewhere safe."

     She nodded and tried not to cry, the feeling building up inside of her as she watched her father — the man who's been the strongest person in her life — tear up and wiped them away with a shaky hand.

     "I love you so much," he whispered and leaned forward to press his lips against her forehead.

     At that precise moment, there was a loud, booming noise that resonated from their front door and her father stumbled away from her. He ran back outside to where the sound came from as he shouted at whoever was there. Her heart was pounding, there was a ringing noise that deafened her. Flashes of light and endless screaming echoed throughout the house as she began to wail.

     There was someone — a figure of darkness crossing the room in a slow, threatening pace as they approached her. A horrible, evil laughter escaped them as she let out a shrill cry. Before anything could happen, light exploded — the blindness of it forced the figure to fly backwards into a wall. A fiery, golden flame enveloped her as her scar across her wrist burned with immense pain.

     As swiftly as the fire came, it had disappeared. Not only were the flames gone — but it had swallowed her whole, leaving the space empty with nobody understanding how did she travel from Godric's Hollow to Kasimir Valentine's manor in a blink of an eye.

     It had been a miracle that saved Tessa that night — or so they say.

ϟ ϟ ϟ ϟ

"OUCH! George, you're stepping on my foot!" Tessa hissed in pain as she tried to elbow the taller boy away from her. She really should've just stayed in the Burrow and waited for them to pick up Harry, but she was curious to visit his Muggle home. "Fred, move — ow!"

"Tessa, you're breathing my air — !"

"Georgie, shut up!"

"Ouch!" Arthur Weasley was also part of the group who were all jumbled up together. "Fred, no — go back, go back,  go back quickly and tell Ron —"

"Maybe Harry can hear us, Dad — maybe he'll be able to let us out —" Fred broke off by suddenly hammering his fists against the wall. "Harry? Harry, can you hear us?"

Tessa coughed and wheezed at the ash and door that got to her mouth. "Harry, are you there?"

     They all paused their pounding when a familiar voice called out in response, "Mr. Weasley? Tessa? Can you hear me? Mr. Weasley, it's Harry . . . the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through there."