𝒯𝑜 𝒩𝑒𝓌 𝐵𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

June 8th, 1994

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓎-𝒮𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃

A normal day. If anything, a perfect day. The weather was perfect, no wind and the temperature perfectly warm. Not hot... just a nice warmth. The sky was clear of a single cloud.

It was a good day... a good morning. Hell, it wasn't even that long after the sun went down when...

"Start packing a bag!"

That part was a blur. A small girl with long dark hair, and green eyes with a ring of cobalt blue at the pupil, ran into her bedroom. Grabbing a backpack, hurrying around as she grabbed this and that. Not clothes... or a brush... no only pictures... and papers.

A man rushed into the room the same dark hair and the same eyes. He held a folder, a binder, and some loose papers. Kneeling to the girl's level, he stuffed them into her bag, zipping it for her, placing it on her back. Grabbing her hand, he dragged her out of the bedroom, into the living room.

The windows had their curtains drawn together, blocking the view of whatever was outside, but the pair both had their eyes trained on the window. Muffled voices could be heard approaching. Dropping her hand, he rushed towards the fireplace, searching the mantle for something... banging a fist as he realized it wasn't there.

The girl stayed very still, shaking as her eyes remained trained on the window, "It should be in the kitchen."

Wasting no time rushing off, the man pointed to the fireplace, "Go sit in there and shut the grate."

The girl listened without even a moment of hesitation, pushing herself against the back wall of the fireplace as she slammed the grate. Watched through the holes as the man circled the kitchen. Watched as he all but leaped for a small bag discarded onto the fridge. Watching as he rushed back over to her...

But he was too late... the front door blew off its hinges with a bang.

The man freezing in place just a few feet away from where he needed to be, hand clutching the small bag, knuckles going white as he watched four figures enter the house...

Another blur of a moment. The girl couldn't make out faces, focusing on the man's figure as he spoke to the people before him. She could make out voices. But they were distant.

"Where is the girl."

"Take another step, and I blow you to pieces!"

"You can't take us all...."

"Give it up."

A blur...

The man makes a dive towards the fireplace, throwing a handful of powder in the fireplace, his eyes locking onto the girl's with a sad smile as a green, harmless fire erupted around her.

His last words, "I love you,"

The last thing that girl would hear was a shrill "Avada Kadavra!"

The last thing she saw was the life instantly vanishing from the man's face...

The last thing she would do was mutter a word beneath her breath, vanishing into the fire...

...

Waking with a start, Iris jolted up in the bed, wincing at the pain as she lifted a hand to her side. Searching her surroundings took a moment, her eyebrows knitting together as she tried to make sense of it.

She was in the Hospital Wing. That much was obvious. With the white curtain drawn all around her bed. The thin, scratchy bedding. Two chairs to the left of the bed were empty... but Iris hadn't been alone forever. Not if the fresh flowers on the nightstand or the poorly made card meant anything.