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Standing in Theseus' office, Ariadne could feel the anguish radiating from the man. His hair was tousled, disarranged from running his fingers through his roots. Ariadne was sure she looked like a mess too. Eyes red from her own tears, ash covering her face with the smell of smoke lingering in her clothes and hair. Bailey laid numbly in a hospital bed, Melinda by his side. His wounds were healed though his condition was unknown, traces of dark magic still remained in his body. The aftermath of the battle stung more in the silence of Theseus' office. She needed comfort, and she could tell he needed it too. However as she stepped closer to him, his eyes shot her a cold glare.
"You disobeyed my order," he chastised, his voice filled with exasperation, "I told you to stay and yet you went after him."
"Bailey was being dragged away," she said slowly, not knowing why she needed to defend her actions. Narrowing her eyes, she kept her hands linked behind her back. She had not expected such animosity when he called her into his office. Out of everyone here, he was the one who should have understood.
"There were countless aurors you were protecting. They needed your shield."
"What were you going to do? Leave him to die? He's your friend," she countered, stepping closer to him. The unspoken implication of confusion didn't reach Theseus. Her words sounded more like accusations towards his commands. Why didn't he try harder?
"Unlike you, so are the rest of the aurors." His voice was sharp, defending himself from her words. Ariadne flinched at the tone of his voice, her head moving further away. "I was deciding between one man or a dozen."
"A stun will do nothing," she refuted, matching his tone. "Bailey was bleeding. His whole chest was an open wound. I defended him."
His words were swiftly aimed, like an arrow to bullseye. There was no unease in his voice. He meant to strike with full force, to make her tumble under the weight of a manipulated reality, one fuelled by fury and distress. "What if you made it worse?"
Ariadne swallowed, all the strength in her tone prior dispersed as she took a step back. "You don't believe that."
He ran his hand up his face, sighing as his shoulders rose and fell. "You're on paperwork duty." His voice was so cold. "And due to your actions, it's decided that you're no longer fit for the responsibility of Murphy."
"That's not fair."
Her interruption was ignored as Theseus continued, "You will no longer be in charge of his training and he is to be reassigned to another auror."
"You can't do that," she wildly reasoned. Blaming her for Bailey's injuries was one thing, revoking her right to mentor Reuben sent Ariadne off the edge. She had been wallowing around in her own guilt. The one person who was meant to lead her to relief refused to even acknowledge it. This wasn't supposed to happen.
"And he didn't even hesitate to follow you," he snapped back without missing a beat, "What if you put him in a situation where you can't save him?" His words hurt more than she should have allowed it to and she couldn't stop the constant echo of his voice. What if you made it worse? Her father had been the one who brought Bailey down, who ordered a man to drag him away, all for what? He had looked her in the eye after his actions. What if you made it worse? Her heart was pounding against her rib cage, begging to finally be set free. Her lips pressed together, the ends pointing to the ground.
"Theseus-"
"No." He was pushing her away and Ariadne didn't know what to do. "Just because we have this thing behind everyone's back does not mean you are exempted from the consequences of your own actions." Her body went rigid at his words. Thing, sure, that's what he could call it. Whatever, that's fine. He noticed the tartness in his voice, eyes closed, regretting the heavyweight he had shot at her. Still, he kept his mouth shut, leaving nothing retracted.
She wanted to yell, scream until he saw sense, but when has a temper tantrum ever helped anyone? Realising that she had nothing nice to say to him, she swiftly turned on her heel and left, leaving him to the empty silence of his office. He wasn't in his right mind, she justified, wanting to end the suffering in her heart. He might have lost his lifelong childhood best friend. And yet her mind couldn't help but return three words: what about you?
On her way out, she didn't realise that Wilton had passed her. The taller man raised an eyebrow at the heartbreak painted on her face before he made his way inside Theseus' office.
"Is it done?" Theseus refrained from glaring at the man. At times it felt like Wilton was Head Auror. Travers had taken a liking to the man and if he had applied, Theseus was sure no one could stop him from picking Wilton. Too bad his arrogance had been noticed by Barracus. Without a recommendation letter, Wilton stood no chance. That was back then though. Now, Barracus wasn't there to save them. Theseus knew that if anything happened to him, Wilton would pick up the responsibility. Ariadne saw it too, that's why she wanted to keep their relationship a secret. But he always wondered: was there more to her decision?
Theseus nodded at Wilton's question and the blonde man remained deadpan. "Good. Travers wants you to gather a team for tomorrow," he lifted the corners of his lips into a twisted smile, "We're going back to Hogwarts."
For the rest of the afternoon, Ariadne avoided Theseus, which wasn't hard to do at all since the man had stayed in his office. That was until the end of the working day, with the clock drawing near five, the lingering aurors started packing up, done for the day. There wasn't much to do anyways, with half their team inside St Mungos. Those who were here couldn't bear the burden of their own anxieties within the white walls.
Theseus had called them together, the remaining aurors all crowded around the small empty space. The office seemed larger without the crowd and Ariadne kept her eyes downcasted. He proposed a new task, one with the intention of recruiting Dumbledore to fight against the tyrannical wizard. He was the only man deemed equal to Grindelwald but Ariadne knew that Travers and Theseus knew not of their history.
He called out four names, Wilton included and strangely, her name. He just wanted her to come so he could keep an eye on her. Merlin knew that now they thought of her as a liability. Someone they had to keep in check, making sure every order they threw her way was executed perfectly, without flaw, without her own personal judgement.
Reuben stood to her side, sending glances filled with concern her way. She ignored each one and when Theseus concluded his address, she left without a word. Both Theseus and Reuben watched her leave with haste. The younger man shot his superior a stare, watching as Theseus' eyes followed the woman with sadness. It was then that everything fell into place. He had enough pieces of the puzzle to catch a glimpse of the full image. Two things were certain, Reuben knew that Theseus was in love with Ariadne. He also knew that the man had messed up. For whatever was haunting Ariadne, seemed to be haunting Theseus as well.
☆
"How is he?" At the sound of her voice, Melinda jumped, the eerily silence broke as Ariadne stepped inside Bailey's hospital room. The man laid still, the slow motion of his chest agitated anyone who stepped inside his room, none knowing which one could be his last. Ariadne's eyes softened as Melinda turned to her. Compared to Theseus and Ariadne, she looked grievous. Eyes puffy and swollen, the end of her jumper damp with tears. Hair tangled and her body stiff.
"Um, they don't know," she stammered out, trying to regain her composure.
Ariadne softly tilted her head to the side. "How long have you been here?"
"Since yesterday."
The brunette witch shook her head softly. "You need to go home, rest or eat something."
"I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up," Melinda reasoned, biting on her lower lip. Ariadne had no strength in her to counter the raven haired witch, only turning to her head to face Bailey. It hurt even to see him like this. He just looked so ...
"You know, I'd never thought I'd miss his awful voice," Ariadne insisted, words wobbling out. However, it had the intent effect. The edges of Melinda's lips lifted, her eyes closed as she tried to not imagine the worse. "He'll wake up. He has to."
"I heard what happened," Melinda began as Ariadne shot her a confused glance, "Actually I was there when Wilton accusing you of endangering the 'whole auror office.'" This was news to Ariadne. If Wilton had been the one who pressured Travers for a punishment, that meant that Theseus didn't want to reprimand her. So why was he so harsh about it? There could have been an easier way, if he just... "What? You didn't think Theseus actually wanted to rebuke you, did you?"
Ariadne left her mouth wide open as she thought of an answer. Did she really think that Theseus meant half the words that came out yesterday? Yes. She did. He had hit every crack in her heart, aimed flawlessly that it had shattered.
"Have you talked to him since?" Ariadne shook her head, her throat constricted due to the overwhelming ache. Melinda gave the woman a look, conveying her chiding. "I think you need to." The brunette witch held her head to the ground, feeling powerless and fragile. Maybe if Bailey hadn't found her yesterday, he would not be lying here. Because maybe, this was all her fault. Just like Theseus had said. As if the shorter witch invaded her mind, a soft hand clasped Ariadne's, causing her to lean into Melinda, the two women residing in each other's comfort. Because maybe, just maybe, they'll make it through okay.
[1732 words]
a/n
hehe i love writing angst :D
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