The last enemy

Chapter 89: Alone

I enter the house, shopping bags in my hands. I quickly store the food in the fridge and settle in the living room to watch TV. As a middle-aged man talks of suspicious attacks, images of destroyed houses and building are displayed on the screen. I sigh as there are no news of anyone in the Wizarding world.

I am presently in my Dad's house; the one he left me in his will. This is where I apparated after obliviating the two Death Eaters. It has been a while that I thought about this house and I was curious as to what it looked like and in what condition it was. So, in my plan, I had decided that once I faked my death, I would apparate here to see if I could make of this my new house. When I arrived, I was surprised to see that the house was completely clean, with not a speck of dust in sight. Even weirder, everything still worked marvellously.

I was also happy to find pictures. Moving ones and Muggle ones. There is one with my father as he appears to be trying to make pancakes. He is constantly moving and trying not to burn anything.

There is another photo of him and my mother on a picnic. She is wearing a white blouse and jeans while he is wearing a white tee-shirt, with a light blue shirt over it and also jeans. He appeared to be quite handsome. In the picture, the both of them are smiling at the camera and then my dad picks my mum up and plants a kiss on her cheek.

I wish I could've met them; I really do.

The other pictures seem to be of my grandparents, my father when he was younger and one is of a woman that I can't quite place as she enters the house, smiling and waving to the camera. The last pictures I found were in a big photo album, hidden away in one of the cupboards. Inside are hundreds of pictures of Sirius, Remus, James, Lily, my mum, her parents, Hogwarts and many more. All pictures that date up to 1976. Then, it's as if she stopped talking to them or seeing them.

I loved spending time, turning the page of that album, soaking up the memories I never lived. I did exactly the same for the pictures with my dad.

It's been less than a week now since I've got here. 2 days to be exact; and everything is the exact same. I've tried not to get in too close contact with the Wizarding world. That means avoiding anyone who is wearing a cloak, wearing Muggle clothes and the hardest; no magic. But usually, my curiosity gets the best of me and I listen to the radio or the television, trying to figure out if there isn't a secret message for witches and wizards that are in hiding.

Suddenly, as I'm walking over to the kitchen, I hear somebody unlocking the door. My blood immediately runs cold. Not having enough time to dig out where I hid my wand, I arm myself of a frying pan and cautiously hide in the corridor. As I feel my heart starting to beat faster, I hear the door opening and closing.

A few seconds later, I can also hear a woman's voice humming joyfully to a song. Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of the woman in the mirror on the wall in front of me. I watch as the lady from the picture whom I couldn't quite place starts waving her wand. As she performs her charm, the little dust that seems to have accumulated picks itself up, leaving the surfaces spotless.

Confused as to what a Death Eater would be doing cleaning the house of its future victim, I decide to believe that the woman isn't a threat. Seeing her in my parent's picture also makes me want to trust her more. Without a word, I step out of the corridor, standing in clear view for her to see. I look at her, eyebrows raised as she takes absolutely no notice of me.

The woman turns to face the mirror that I was looking at earlier, taking out a handkerchief and rubbing it over the surface. I take a few seconds to look at her properly. She appears to be in her late 60's and has blonde looking hair, mixed in with grey hair. Her eyes are deep blue and she has wrinkles on her face that makes me think that she must smile a lot. Without thinking about it first, I suddenly ask: