*in which, after your death, everyone finds out your role in the world that you kept a secret*
sirius aint dead. dumbledore doesnt take the ring. major character death. a bittt sad.
**
harry finds it difficult to sleep again. as does ron... and hermione... the weasley twins and... professor snape and dumbledore, as well as anyone else in the order of the pheonix.
if you open up the dictionary and look up 'suspicious' you find a picture of {Y/N} {L/N} under it.
5th night that she says shes spending in london at grimmaulds, but when harry contacts sirius about this information, he infact finds out that you are not there.
but for 4 days now, you have returned until the morning.
"and where could she go?" harry asks sirius figure in the fire.
"i dont know harry. i suppose that our universe is big and for a girl with magic like hers... its a game" sirius wonders, rubbing his faciel hair.
"i just hope... greatly... that she stays safe"
there was no talking about it, but it was evident that you werent. you werent safe, nor healthy, and seemed rather like a ghost lately.
especially with those thick gloves of yours.
shed dissapear right before dinner, after everyone returned to their dorms to change after classes.
hermione would be relaxing on her bed when suddenly you roll out of the bathroom with a bag on your shoulder, muggle produced boots that, when she tried putting on, were uncomfortable for her, and sunglasses already covering your eyes.
you havent taken those black gloves from your hands in a while, everyone notes.
"where are you off to again?" she asks every time.
"grimmaulds. i wanna be with sirius and remus for a bit. it feels better there" youd quickly answer with a smile.
"are you sick?" shed add.
"no. ok, bye hermione. ill see you in the morning, ok?" you ask, walking over to her bed and hugging her, kissing the crown of her head.
"yeah" she hugs you back and smiles as she watchs you walk away to the window, summon your broom, and just as quick as the conversation was, she would be standing at the window and watching your broom dissapear into the nights skies.
when shed loose sight of you in the distance, she comes over to the boys room and alerts them that again, you have left.
they dont know what to do, especially for the fact that when they asked the residents of the black house if you are there, they were also surprised to find out you leave the school.
but again, in the morning of the 5th day, when hermione wakes up, she finds you in the bathroom, brushing your teeth.
your eyes seem sunk in and your hair is disheveled, you seem light on your feet, but the lazy smile you flashed her way was not easy and light, but forced, as if it had hurt your cheeks to smile, seeming absolutly exhausted.
"good morning hermione" you wave at her your gloved hand, spitting out your toothpaste and washing your mouth, walking past her and patting her shoulder as you do so.
"how was your night?" she immediatly asks in hopes that you wont lie.
"slept well, thanks" you reply shortly, immediatly changing the conversation about todays scaduale.
everyone around you is suspicious.
"so, whats your plan for today?" harry asks.
ever since your first year at hogwarts, the boy was your best friend. youd share anything with each other and were always truthful and supportive of each other.
he was your secretman, and you his.
but now... you have been lying.
what good reason did you have to lie? there must be a good reason since you wouldnt lie to him easily like that, would you?
youve told him your dark secrets, your phobias and your kinks and every guy or girl you were interested in, and he did the same to you.
what could you possibly be hiding that you refuse to tell him?
"classes, homework, the usual" you reply in a shrug, drinking from your cup of coffee..
these... 2 cups of coffee and one of tea in the morning were also a new accurance.
"are you leaving tonight too?" harry asks quietly.
"i think so. i just sleep so much better there... it calms me down in these tense seasons, you feel me?" you ask quietly.
he simply nods and confirms.
but he still wants to have more of your time, so today, he asks hermione to go somewhere else, and to let him enter your room while you get ready to leave.
she of course, refuses and says that she asks to be there too.
harry makes comfortable on your bed while you shower, hand behind his head as he stared at your moving and dancing cieling that you bewitched, while hermione paced the room.
"maybe... we just ask her? just hold her down and ask her" hermione offers, stressed.
"it wont work. you know {Y/N}, you can rip her hand off and shed still be silent if she wanted to" harry seems unphased, looking at the cieling almost calmly as he replies to the stressed brunette.
"so we beat it out of her. or force feed her some veritaserum, what do you think?" she spits out quickly.
"shed reach her hand into a burning fire and swallow the flaming coal if we ask her to. poisoning her would be not fair" harry adds, taking a deep breath.
"just calm down hermione. we'll just talk to her like normal. it cant be anything that crazy, right? she returns every morning" harry whispers.
they hear the shower turn off, and then they watch you exit the bathroom, wearing the gloves, shirt, and a jacket, as if it wasnt warm tonight to walk without a jacket.
"harry, didnt know you were still here" you comment, reaching for your bag and start packing it.
a bottle of water, a notebook and a quill, a pack of cigarettes, chapstick, a pair of socks, another pair of gloves and a few empty viels.
"so, where are you going?" harry asks, sitting up on the bed and watching as you put on your jewlery at the mirror. hermione is sitting silent, hoping to see if something different will come out your mouth today.
"grimmaulds. i prefer sleeping there for a bit" you reply, closing an earring.
"why?" harry asks.
"its cozy" you reply quickly with a short smile, then lean closer to the mirror to apply your lipstick carefully om your tired lips.
your whole body, your whole demeaner... it seemed much more tired, much more... destroyed. its been going down hill for a few months know, your weight, bruises on your skin and tired expressions.
"so, you coming back in the morning?" harry asks, but this time you only giggle in respond.
this time, you havent put your glasses on yet, and when you turn around, they see your red and tearful eyes.
"you really are great best friends guys" you whisper, walking over to hermione and hugging her quickly. shes confused, but still hugs you back tightly.
"even though i have been returning for a while now, you still ask." you smirk, letting go of hermione and walking over to the window, where harry already waited for you.
"i have no regrets in meeting and befriending you, my friend" you smile at harry with your tired features, but it seems genuine, in your teary eyes.
harry takes your hand in his.
"should the day ever come that we are not together..." you hold his hand tightly, "you will continue to shine like gold in my memories."
harry is shocked by what you just said, seems so out of place and random, but yet so loving and... alarming.
before he says much, you pull on his hand and wrap your other around him, hugging him.
to that he does reply quickly, wrapping his arms around you and hugging you close to his body.
you stay hugged for a few moments, until you finally pull away, your hands still holding.
your other hand is already holding your broom.
"goodbye" you smile at them softly.
hermione notes you dont wear your sunglasses tonight.
"goodbye" they both murmur to you, watching as you straddle the broom and kick with your boots covered feet-when did your boots get this dirty?-on the ground, flying out the window and slowly dissapearing into the distance.
"feels wrong"
**
when hermione wakes the next morning, she jumps to look for you around the dorm, but not in the bathroom, closet or bed, you seem to be found.
on your bed thought, hermione finds letters and black gloves lying on a... headstone. a humble piece of rock lying on your bed, on it carved...
she pushs back the letters and takes a good look at the words etched on the stone, seemingly by hand.
"{Y/N} {M/N} {L/N}"
and nothing else.
not a birth date nor anything else that is usualy... written on a headstone.
hermiones hands start to shake, her eyes filling up with tears, amd immeidatly, she gives out a shriek that wakes up the dead.
or so she hopes.
it wakes up the rest of the gryffindor dorms, and quickly, they all pile in.
harry, ron and the older weasley brothers push through the sea of gryffindors until they get to your bed.
on it, hermione is lying, hugging a headstone and crying.
they cant speak.
they see the same thing.
"w-w-what the hell is that?!" "this is not funny!"
hermione cant reply, only keeps sobbing, clinging to the headstone.
the familiar black gloves are clutched in her hand.
harry immeidatly falls forward, putting his hands on your bed and putting his forehead on the headstone.
he doesnt cry yet. he doesnt know whats happening, but this does not seem promising.
**
the gryffindors were sent to their classes, while the trio stayed in dumbledores office, waiting till the search parties return, hopefully with something helpful to the situation.
it takes about an hour, but then remus appears in the office, evidently been crying.
he calls them over, and your friends, accampanied by your headmaster, professor mcgonagall and professor snape, find themselves by the black lake.
on the site, they see sirius lying on the shore, hugging a body to his chest.
they all ran over, and surely enough, there you were.
dead.
"she had left a bewitched letter in our house for the moment she..." remus cant even say the sentance without sobbing in the middle, before he falls to his knees and cries.
harry is quick to fall down and move you out of siriuss grip, hugging you to his body and swaying gently, shaking, crying, muttering prayers.
"this cant be... this cant be..." he murmurs, crying, his voice breaking.
meanwhile harry cries, dumbledore takes the note out of remuss hand, wipes tears away and opens the letter.
"to dearest sirius black and remus lupin, greetings. if you are reading this, it means that i have died.
i already miss you two.
i sure hope dumbledore gets to read this, because i know youd like this.
how i wondered into marvolos house after reading about it in a book at the blacks, and when i got there, i tore the place down until i found it. the cursed ring.
i contemplated long if i shall wear it or not, for i heard many things about what could happen.
i decided that it will be for the greater good"
dumbledore immedatly sighs and shakes his head, while your friends joined the crying on the ground team.
"the ring is killing me body. by now, it killed it. since the second i put it on, i knew id be taking the curse onto my body.
the curse kills. slowly, agonizingly. it hurts my fingers and spreads up my arm to my shoulder. i could feel it creeping to my heart lately, so i decided to go stay at the blacks for a little.
the nights are the worst. my cursed organs feel like they are burned and scrunched and streched. im lying on the ground in the grass and scream and whine and bawl. its a pain i wouldnt wish on anyone. im proud i could take it instead of having someone else going through this"
snape leans down, your head is lying on harrys lap, and he pulls your hand up.
there are no gloves, and now its all visible.
all your left hand fingers and black out... from their tip... all the way up to your shoulder.
snape pulls down on the tank top you are wearing, and he can see a clear black train from your shoulder, to your collarbone, and down to your heart.
the sight makes them want to throw up.
"i have been etching my headstone since the day i put on the ring, but i didnt know what to write except for my name. i hope you like it and will use it on my grave.
i got the gloves the 3th day with the ring, when the area around the ring itself began to darken and seem so dry and... dead.
youd think that dead things dont feel pain.
im just glad i could spare this pain to anyone else.
yours, and forever with you,
{Y/N} {M/N} {L/N}"
dumbledore sits on the ground, holding your hand, your black and dead hand, and on it sits a ring that shines like the stars.
harry is sobbing like there is no worse tragedy, and hes not alone.
hermione, ron, remus and sirius all sound like they are wailing together, while snape gets up, moving away and looking away, while minerva covers her face.
dumbledore looks at you with the proudest look he could find.
you took a risk bigger then anything, all for your friends.
as you had said before you sacrificed yourself,
"id die the worst death for you to live your best lives"
**
now, every single one of your friends, are sitting alone.
harry, ron, hermione, fred, george, remus, sirius, snape and dumbledore.
all sitting alone in different places.
each one of them holds a personalized letter you have left for each one on top of your headstone.
the one that now sits on the top of the hill by hogwarts, decorated by a whole garden of flowers with your headstone.
***
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yours, the red demon♧