Apples and Snakes

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

The ankle's healing up fine, she has a couple scratches and bruises, but nothing too bad," the Healer said. She looked at Mum and Dad. "Just get her home."

Dad nodded. "Come on, Alice, let's go."

I nodded, and stood in my tattered, stained dress, and followed on my bandage-wrapped feet.

We were stopped briefly by Cornelius Fudge.

"Miss Potter, I would like to personally apologize for our accusations, and all charges against you have been cleared and I'd-"

"Took you long enough, didn't it?" I interrupted coldly. "Don't lie about how you didn't know before, because you did. You did because of your fear. Have you now seem what fear leads to? Fear leads to people dying."

"Alice," my father said patronizingly. "Let the nice man apologize."

I dug my fingers into my palms in fists in attempt to let my anger out, but felt my expression slowly showing it.

"Um, I'd better go see to some others," Fudge said, and he scurried off. Mum and Dad Side-Along Apparated me to home. I didn't take one look back, I just ran into the cottage, ran into my room, and slammed the door shut, and locked it. I kicked at my chair for my desk, and it toppled over with a satisfying crash. I then went over to my sketchbooks, and threw them across the room.

I picked up the loose sketches that had drifted to the floor from being thrown across the room, and started crumpling and ripping them up. I staggered towards the closet door, and rammed my body against it, and fell to the floor, shaking with sobs as I started screaming.

"Alice! Alice! Are you okay?" I heard the doorknob get jiggled. "Alohamora." Mum and Dad burst in with Harry on their heels as I lay in the field of paper, just screaming and crying.

He's gone, he's gone, and he's never coming back! The words repeated in my head as Mum came over, but Dad looked a bit cross.

"We thought you were hurt," he said.

This hurts more than anything else ever has in my life. The Cruciatus is nothing compared to this agony, and knowing that there was nothing you could've done!

Mum took me into her arms and stroked my hair. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

With some coaxing from Mum, she got me to change into a Joan Jett t-shirt and sweatpants, and I was sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, sobbing.

"Here you go," Mum said, and she sat down next to me. On the coffee table was a mug of hot chocolate. I reluctantly took it, and started sipping, careful not to spill any on the blanket.

"Thanks, Mum," I finally said. Harry was moping around too, because apparently Sirius was dead. Not that I cared because A) he never talked to me much, and B) someone more important in my life was dead. Mum just let the boys mourn together, and the girls mourn together.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mum asked.

I shakily nodded. "I don't get it. I thought I was the hero of this story, and he was the love interest, so we'd both get to have a happily ever after in the end."

"War doesn't care about happily ever after, Alice," Mum said slowly.

"You think that I don't know that now?" I snapped.

"I'm just trying to help," Mum protested.

"I'm saying that I used to think that way. Not that I still do," I replied. "I saw all those muggles, all that panic. I can't believe that anyone could justify that!"

"Yet they still do," Mum murmured.

I set the hot chocolate down and sighed. The tears came up again. I just wrapped up into the blanket and withdrew into a warm cocoon. Bittersweet memories filled my vision, and I re-walked my memories.

"Alice, wake up," Mum shook me gently. "We've got visitors."

I dully realized that I'd cried myself to sleep. I got up, blanket still clutched around me like a cape, and followed Mum to the door, where Lux Emrys, Rhys Emrys, and a woman who had to be their mother were on our doorstep.

"Please, Alice, we need your help," Lux said.

"What with?" I asked, swallowing back my emotions.

"My son! He's on trial for the death penalty, and it's all because of the attack and some experiments! Please, he's a good man, deep down," the woman pleaded.

I looked at her somewhat coldly. "Excuse me, but I lost someone in that attack," I said, and my throat felt like it was closing in.

"And we're really sorry to bother you with this," Lux interrupted, really looking guilty. "I know that Wesley was your first love. But we know that he wasn't in the right state of mind due to manipulations, and he doesn't deserve that much."

And this is how justice dies- with a thundering applause.

"Why should I try to save him from death when he didn't do the same for me in my trial?" I asked, as the memories burned in my mind.

"Please, I'm begging," the woman said. "He always spoke highly of you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You're the only one who knows the truth," Rhys said, finally speaking up. "Please.. For my twin. For me. For Lux. For all the lives he has touched in a positive way."

Those people floating in the water that had lives and loves and rivals and family and friends who would miss them... Something that he can never take back.

I was about to say no when I could hear Wesley's voice in my mind.

"Please, it's not all his fault. He was manipulated, just like you were at first. He doesn't deserve the death penalty."

"Fine," I said, holding back a sniffle. "Only because Wesley would've wanted me to."

"You're very generous," his mother said. I did my best not to roll my eyes.

"Get out of the house," I snarled. They nodded, and scurried out, except for Lux.

"I truly am sorry, Alice," he said quietly, before he left. I fell to my knees as he shut the door behind him, and I started screaming again.

It was insulting! But Wesley would've wanted me to, I knew that much.