LIONHEART ❃ george weasley

045 | a confession of faith

"Give me a second, fuck," Albany retorted, bile rising in her throat. She swallowed. "Old magic. I was using old magic to undo the spell you cast on him."

Faith didn't flinch at the accusation, though the intensity of her gaze shifted, deep thought consuming the icy blues. "What's old magic?" she asked, staring at the sink behind Albany without really seeing it.

"Magic used in... in Merlin's time," Albany said, and tasted blood in her mouth. She glared at the girl. She would answer her questions, but let it be known that she wasn't happy in doing so. "It's different to modern magic. You don't always need instruments or incantations."

"Your eyes turned gold," Faith said, and finally brought her eyes to focus on Albany again.

"Yeah, that's how you can tell if someone's using it-"

"Your watch turned gold." Her gaze flicked downwards to where it sat on Albany's wrist. "Why?"

"I don't know about the watch," Albany shot back, holding her arm defensively close to her body. "I really don't. I'm still figuring that bit out." She glared at Faith, eyes narrowing. "Why do you want to know about old magic, anyway? You've used it. On George."

Faith scuffed her shoe on the floor. "I didn't know what it was. Not until now. I just knew that my eyes turned gold. I saw it in the mirrors." She gestured vaguely to the mirrors that were now back on the walls, not a scratch on them.

"How didn't you know?" Albany asked, suspicious. "You've been using it all this time and didn't know until now?!"

"She never explained what it was!" Faith retorted, voice rising in volume. Her irises warmed in colour, just for a split second, and one of the clear mirrors Albany had just noted cracked. Faith shut down immediately, stepping backwards and grabbing at her head.

"Who's she?" Albany asked, struggling to keep her own voice steady and calm. Faith was like a ticking time bomb; bound to explode, but Albany couldn't see how long was left until she did.

"No, me first," Faith argued, raising her head. "I'm not done asking questions. How do you use old magic? Or, no, why can we use it? Why doesn't everyone?"

"Not everyone can," Albany replied carefully. "I'm descended from Merlin, I told you that."

"You were telling the truth," Faith realised, eyes widening.

"It's not my fault you didn't fucking believe me," Albany snapped. She took a sharp inhale. Keep your cool. She had no idea what would set Faith off. "Old magic hasn't passed on to everyone. You have to be the direct descendent of a pretty decent sorcerer."

"Or sorceress," Faith whispered. She straightened again, and stepped forward, eyes narrowed with determination. "When you told me about Merlin... you said you heard his voice in your head. Like in Charms class."

"Yeah," Albany stammered, not entirely following.

Faith stepped closer again, and Albany was trapped against the sink. Faith looked desperate. "How did you get rid of the voice?"

Albany leaned back, heart pounding. "I - I didn't," she admitted, her only reassurance being that she'd technically already explained all of this to Faith. She just hadn't believed her the first time. "I starting actually seeing him after that. Like a ghost."

Faith stepped back, shoulders sagging. "Can you make him go away?"

"Sometimes if I yell at him he will," Albany remarked drily. She felt a pang of sympathy watching Faith's face fall, and came up with a more serious answer. "But I don't think I can rid of him. It's his choice when he leaves."