Potions & Charms

Remembering

Scott waited until he was able to slip inside the structure. Every mind was built differently and while Kirstie's had been rather unstructured and out of control, almost messy, Mitch's seemed more organized. However, even the inside of Avi's mind was filled with thick, black smoke and Scott couldn't do anything but take his time. He walked around slowly, careful not to bump into anything, and he kept following a dim light that seemingly guided him to what he was looking for. On the way he passed several doors and the man couldn't help but be impressed by Avi's ability to keep everything so neat and organized.

"Keep walking" he heard Avi's voice echoing back from the borders once he came to a halt. "Keep walking, Scott." 

"I can't, it's too dark. Avi, you can trust me. I know that it takes a lot of strength but your setup is impressive, you're the most talented Occlumens I've ever came across." 

"Stop talking, I have to focus. Keep walking" Avi said again and then it got quiet again. 

The doors had disappeared and Scott found himself in what seemed like a massive potion lab. The walls were covered by gigantic shelves reaching into the sky until they disappeared in darkness, holding vials in various sizes. They were neatly labeled and Scott managed to peek at a piece of parchment sticking to the side of a vial that read "First day at Durmstrang" before it turned blurry. The man kept walking and soon found the one he had been looking for. 

"First night at Scott's, Norway" he mumbled and reached for the vial before he walked over to a Pensieve in the middle of the room, before Avi's voice stopped him. 

"Just decoration" the Potion Master said and made it disappear. "Let it drip out, but be careful. The others that were in here before weren't and ruined a whole year worth of memories. I still have to clean that up."

The next thing Scott saw was a swirl of color around him, a contrast from the previous dark colors that had dominated Avi's mind, and he found himself standing in the corner of his bedroom while he himself and Avi were getting ready for bed. He saw himself gripping Avi's wrists to keep him from touching the hot water bottles hidden under the blankets, he saw his eyes closing and then, moments later, his face turning into the one of a to him unknown person. Avi however flinched hard and then he was forced to watch the witch getting up to reach for a whip. 

The baritone flinched when he felt a hand around his own. He turned his head and saw Avi standing next to him, squeezing it lightly, and the dream had paused. "This is my old Dark Arts teacher" the man explained quietly and didn't let go of Scott's hand. "He was the most cruel of all of them." 

Scott noticed that Avi seemed intimidated by his presence, even though it was just a memory of a dream. Still, it was proof for how much abuse Avi had experienced during his time at school. "I guess being cruel is one of the main personality traits someone should have to teach Dark Arts, huh?"

"I guess." He turned back to the dream and felt Scott flinching when the whip hit Avi's skin.  

"Fuck." Scott frowned and had a hard time looking at the man on his knees as he cried out and begged for the teacher to stop. He felt the pain Avi had gone through, he felt his back burning and the warmth of blood tickling down, through his broken skin down his sides until it dripped down on the floor. Again and again, and by the time Avi had reached the fireplace he was glad when everything turned black and he found himself in front of the large shelf filled with vials again. 

Avi didn't say anything. He looked at Scott before he disappeared, and the next thing the baritone noticed that he was leaning agains the wooden wall in his living room again, panting, while the bass was sitting on the couch and stared off into space.  

While the Potion Master slowly managed to pull himself out of his head and back into reality Scott prepared yet another cup of tea and brought it over to the couch. He didn't touch Avi as he was afraid to scare him or make things worse as he currently wasn't really alert or even close to reacting, and when he heard the first shaky breath he turned his head and smiled lightly. 

"Hey, welcome back." 

"Mhm.." 

Scott handed him a cracker to nibble on and placed his hand on Avi's shoulder. "You didn't show me the whole thing. What triggered your nightmare?"

"The mirror in the bathroom. The big one, behind the door" the Potion Master mumbled. "I didn't expect it to be there and it just- it triggered a lot of memories when I saw the- when I saw my back." 

"I'm sorry, Avi. I didn't think of that." With that Scott got up from the couch and made his way to the bathroom, only to return with the large mirror a few moments later. He reached for his wand on the dining table and transformed it into a small picture frame which ended up next to the TV above the fireplace. "Okay?"

The bearded man nodded and smiled lightly. "Yes, thank you." 

"Perfect. Now, how do you feel about going outside for a bit? We could go and look for a tree?" 

Avi's smile got wider and he was up on his feet in no time, next to the door to slip into his shoes. "Yes please. I haven't been on a good walk in months. Does Norway have Dementors?"

"Not a single one." He reached for his scarf and handed it to Avi. "Here, bundle up" Scott said and then, once dressed in snow boots and a thick jacket, stepped out of the door into the bright, fluffy snow. He grabbed the axe resting next to the door, rested it on his shoulder and slipped his wand up his sleeve before they made their way towards the tall, with snow covered trees.