Obscurial (A Hogwarts Legacy Story)

Chapter 5: A Year and Betrayal

     After the incident with Silas and his mother, I sought refuge in the forest with a being named Melusine, whom now I am convinced is a goddess on earth. My principles which I grew up on still lingered in the back of my mind, but they were all but gone by the time I had been living in the forest for around a year. The fairies had taught me how to weave clothing from materials gifted from the forest, instead of the old dresses I had grown accustom to. I dared not go anywhere close to the village, but the fairies shared whispers of the going-ons with the people I once knew. My father and mother were so ashamed of what they assumed had happened to me, they had not even gone looking for me at all. Silas's father grew sicker and sicker, as he withered away and couldn't even move anymore. He was still alive after one year, but any day he could wither too far and pass. His mother was eerily too eager for her husband's passing, and started making arrangements for a funeral in the meeting house soon after I had escaped into the forest. Bad things continued to happen to the village, unbeknownst to Melusine whom heard it only from the fairies. She couldn't place who had been causing mischief, but someone was cursing the village to ruin and it wasn't her.

In that time, Melusine had taught me how to hone my magic, even a little bit. I had a hard time giving in to using it, as I was reluctant to leave my old village life behind, but eventually I was able to practice even a little bit. She had explained that modern witches and wizards she was told used wands to direct their magic more finely, but she was convinced that wands are mere mechanisms to make sure a common witch cannot get to her full potential. She taught me how to do things using my mind, without any spells and with wandless magic. If I thought of what I wanted to do and concentrated on it, I could do it.

By the time one year had passed, I could still only do basic spells like summon a cup or lift a few water droplets from the pond. I learned I did not have the ability to transform into anything I wanted, but that was fine since I did not desire to live in the lake as she did. To make me feel more comfortable, she lived out of the lake with me as long as I was in her forest. We slept on moss, and when it grew cold she used magic to heat the air around us.

I felt as if I had another home away from home. She accepted me as I was, and taught me things I would have never have learned in the village. She taught me things about the outside world, that the fairies had told her. I tried to understand the fairies myself, but they still only sounded like tiny twinkling and giggling to me.

Melusine's eyes never reverted back to her human eyes, no matter how long she was in her human form rather than her serpent form. She grew accustomed to not being able to see, and every time I did anything she could hear and comprehend everything I was doing. That in itself was a great power to me.

Eventually, Silas did come looking for me in the woods, but Melusine warned me to not meet him. If I were to have contact with him, she foresaw a great tragedy to come to pass. I, being that I missed him, went to meet him anyway against my better judgement.

As Melusine was resting one evening, I snuck towards the outer edges of the forest to meet with Silas. I sneak silently through bushes to look for him before he were to see me. Honestly, after so long, I was afraid that I didn't know him anymore. It could've been a trap.

I silently stop behind a cluster of brush on the forest floor, as I hear the crunch of leaves from somewhere ahead of me. I peer through the leaves to see who it may be, if it is Silas. I see a tall man, with brown disheveled hair. Suddenly, a familiar voice calls out from his direction.

"Cyeria? Are you here. I need to speak with you. Please, it's urgent!" His feet crunch on the forest floor, and I grow closer under the tall brush. Then I hear more crunching of leaves and hesitate.

"You are a fool if you think she'd reveal herself to anyone from the village." Another familiar voice pipes up. It was his mother.

"We need to find her to help us get rid of your father's curse. She's the only one who can do it." So that's it, they think I have the power to lift the curse on his father.

Although she told me she could teach me how make curses, in the year I was with Melusine, I learned not one. I certainly didn't know how to break them. I couldn't imagine causing that much pain and suffering to someone else, but I suppose it would be helpful to learn how to take it away.

Carelessly lost in thoughts, I shifted my weight and freeze. I had stepped on, and snapped, a branch under my feet. They both turn to look in my direction.

"Well, I suppose I'm caught now."

I stand up and reveal myself, letting my hair hang where it nearly covered my whole face. Silas runs up to give me a hug. His warm embrace envelops me. He had grown so much taller, while I seemingly stayed the same height. The familiar scent of herbs and chopped pine flood my senses and I let my guard down in his arms. I'd never actually given Silas a hug, but we had been close a few times after rolling down hills and squished between other villagers in the pews of the meeting house. I never realized how fond I grew of him until this moment, and it caused my heart to ache in nostalgia and melancholy.

"Silas-" I start, but then I hear more crunches nearby. I hear a tiny sniffle escape Silas's lips, and it didn't register why until what happened next.

"You know what to do, Silas." His mother whispers under her breath. I glance over towards his mother, and to my dismay she had a tight smirk plastered on her face. More villages are gathered behind her. I then suddenly feel a sharp pain in my side and a warm liquid starting to soak my woven garments.

Silas had... stabbed me?

My aching heart then shattered in a million pieces. I felt my limbs go numb quickly and I started to lose sensation in my legs. My knees buckle beneath me, and I collapse. I felt Silas catch me in his arms, but then my vision went black. The last words I hear him say were "this is the only way to save my father."