numb (D.M)

Prologue

It was dark when two cloaked figures appeared in the doorway of Borgin and Burkes. Once inside the two peered around them, searching for onlookers before dropping their hoods, revealing two heads of matching white-blonde hair. They were instantly recognisable, and as they briefly browsed the packed shelves, Borgin turned pale behind the counter. He knew what they had come for.

The woman approached first, an air of sophistication hanging like a lasso around her, graciously greeting the quivering man and making polite conversation. He seemed to visibly relax in her presence and began to talk comfortably, she smiled an intoxicating smile straight into his eyes as she asked the question that she had come to ask. He froze. She placed a comforting hand on his shaking arm as he began to shake his head vigorously, clearly pleading with him.

A few moments later, a crash sounded from across the store. Standing next to a smashed priceless artefact was the woman's husband, cane poised behind the next item along the shelf, ready to sweep it off. Borgin gulped, glancing between the couple and the extremely rare crystal skull sitting peacefully next to the man's cane. He nodded his head with a sigh, facade crumbling before the two in relief when the man retracted his cane.

Borgin reached below the counter and pulled out a small velvet box, which he had sworn to not part with until the owner returned to collect it. He knew that the item inside was not prized just for it's extraordinary worth and that it's real owner would have severe consequences for this event, but his hand had been forced. He traced his finger over the box before reluctantly pressing it into the woman's soft outstretched hand. She smiled once more, intoxicating the man once more as she slipped her new possession into her robe pocket.

The couple murmured kind goodbyes to Borgin, dropping a large bag of gold galleons onto the counter which Borgin took with a knowing smirk. Hush money, not only for the object itself but to ensure their names would remain unassociated. The woman took her husband's arm and they left the shop the way they came, glass crunching under the soles of their feet.

Outside it was cold enough that their breath was rising in white clouds around them. They erupted into laughter for a moment, the sound cutting through the quiet street like nails on a chalkboard, before the woman's face seemed to cloud over with an unreadable emotion.

"It's really going to happen," She murmured quietly, "Is it safe?"

"They will be our salvation Narcissa," He replied gently.

"They're just children," She said, a pang of sadness shooting through her words.

Her husband shook his head, white hair dancing in the moonlight. He wrapped his spare arm around his wife, cane still firmly pressed into his other hand and began to lead them into the darkness once more.

"The prophecy has declared that these events will transpire, they will save themselves too," He replied as they disappeared into the dark.

The remaining street lights flickered in the now empty street, leaving it in pitch darkness for just long enough for the one other person out in Knockturn alley to slink away undetected into the dark. The couple had been hopeful that night, more so than they had ever been in the years proceeding, but maybe that would have been different if they had heard the entire prophecy rather than just an extract.

Then they would know that their so-called salvation could also be the destruction of everything.