Ron was the first to his knees next to the unconscious girl. The others were close behind, hands reaching to pull her out of the dirt. Ron weaved his arms underneath her shoulders and knees, pulling her up and away from the filth she had collapsed in. Harry was grabbing Saige's hands, leading them towards the Burrow, where the others were waiting. Harry's heart hammered distractinly in his chest as Ron laid Saige down on the couch that George had just vacated. Saige stirred at the movement, weakly opening her eyes.
They were still glossy white.
Within the moment it took for her to realize she couldn't see, Harry had dropped to his knees with his wand in one hand and the side of Saige's face in his other.
"Saige? Saige, can you hear me?" Harry asked softly, trying to calm the shaking girl. Her eyes darted this way and that, trying to focus on Harry's voice. Weakly, her arm reached up to grab his wrist.
"Where am I?" Saige whispered, her voice no more than a breath of hot air on her tongue. "Harry — Harry I can't see again," she whimpered.
"I know, I know — you're at the Burrow, you're safe," Harry assured her. "Focus on my voice, okay?" Harry watched as her glossy eyes turned in his general direction. Her hand that had been gripping his wrist raised to touch his face. Harry lifted his wand, muttering incendio under his breath, and watched as fire erupted from the tip of his wand.
"Can you see the light?" Harry asked quietly. The Burrow was painfully silent, aside from the quiet sounds of Mrs. Weasley tending to George's wound.
Harry slowly moved the light back and forth in front of Saige's eyes, waiting for a reaction. Slowly — painfully — Saige's eyes began to latch onto the light, and after a moment, the mist in her eyes began to clear. After a few moments, its wasn't fog that reflected in her eyes but fire inside. Blinking slowly, Saige finally lifted her eyes to Harry's before sitting up on the couch and clenching her fists.
"There you go," Harry muttered, helping her stand. She wobbled for a moment, before glancing down at her legs. A slight grimace passed over her face before she raised an eyebrow. Then she collapsed like a sack of potatoes back onto the couch. Hermione grabbed her arm, helping her sit back up.
"Saige?" Hermione asked quietly. Saige took a few shaky breaths before peering down at her knees.
"I think I broke my leg," Saige said simply, almost comically. The others stared at her. The others watched in silence as white light blared from under Saige's skin, snaking down her veins and into her fingers, which she pressed into either side of her left knee. She shut her eyes for a moment, before letting out a sharp hiss and letting the light fade away. She breathed slowly, laying back on the couch.
Lupin stepped forward, taking a seat on the armrest of a large chair next to the couch. The others relaxed into various seats, waiting for the professor to speak.
"We were betrayed. Someone knew we were moving Harry tonight. Do you have any idea who it might be?" Lupin asked the group but looked to Saige. Saige's eyebrows furrowed, a scowl painting itself across her face as she opened and closed her fists. Harry noticed the smears of blood and dirt across her knuckles.
"What even happened out there?" Ron piped up. "It was like a cloud of them came out of nowhere and then dissipated. Something took the majority of them out..." Ron trailed off when his own mind connected the dots. The group turned to Saige, who had been the only member of their group that hadn't been present for the majority of the trip. Saige's voice popped up, scratchy, weak, and hardly comprehensible, as if she had been screaming.
"I drew away as many as I could. I thought they might want me more than the others. Voldemort has been trying to pull me back for the past year now. I took out the large majority of them, but when I saw Voldemort chasing after you," she turned to look at Harry, "I knew I had to do something. I just wasn't quick enough to save Hedwig... I'm so sorry Harry." Saige reached over and clutched his hand. Harry blinked away, trying not to cry.
"I gave you guys a boost when I saw Voldemort getting closer —" Saige continued, but Harry cut her off.
"So that huge burst of speed we had, Hagrid, do you remember that? That was you?" Harry asked, glancing between Saige and the half giant. Saige nodded.
"You weren't going nearly fast enough to escape him. So I gave you a boost. And then I slammed head on with Voldemort going about 60 miles per hour and tried to choke him," Saige mumbled quickly. The others stared at her.
"He's like Bellatrix. I don't know how, but when he's touching me he can take my powers away. That's why it took me so long to get here. Once he realized who had tackled him, all he had to do was wrap his hand around my throat and everything was gone. I was flying dead-stick. I don't really remember much. I just hit the ground — I thought I had died. But I woke up a few minutes later, completely blind and body trembling, but I was alive. I just wandered for a bit, screamed for a bit, just utterly lost I guess I wandered in the right direction because somehow I'm here. I didn't even notice the grasses or the shield. I guess the impact of the shield took a lot out of me though, 'cause I don't remember even making it out of the grasses," Saige finished. Ron sat back, knowing that he had been the one to carry her into the house.
They sat in silence for a moment, but Saige suddenly sat up.
"Where's Mad-Eye?" She asked. Sirius's eyes scanned the room, silently asking the same question.
Bill looked away.
"Mundungus took one look at Voldemort and took off. Mad-Eye was hit. He's dead." Harry sat back with an ache in his chest, glancing back at Saige. A fire was alight in her eyes.
"That little shit-head," she spat. Testing her balance on her knee for one moment, Saige stood up and began to pace with steam coming out of her ears.
"I need some fresh air," she muttered before storming outside. Sirius followed after the girl, leaving the others inside.
They tried to go back to some version of normalcy, Mrs. Weasley coming in to assign bedrooms and sleeping quarts. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny hurried up to the Attic where they sat on the floor with blankets curled tightly around their shoulders. Through the window one could see a pacing figure in the fields below, talking with the godfather. Harry kept glancing down, making sure everything was okay while the others tried to make small talk. After a while, sleep crept up and started to play a lulling lullaby in their heads, so the three teenagers crept to their assigned rooms and headed to bed.
_______________________________________________________
Stupid, shit head, cowardly, motherfu—
"Saige, you're wearing a path in the grass."
I glanced up from my furious pacing to see Sirius standing in the field. The young man seemed to curl in on himself where he stood, his wild hair limp and thin. I had guessed that he must've only been in his early thirties when I first met him, but the man standing before me had aged ten years.
"How do your powers really work?" Sirius asked quietly. I stopped pacing, standing a few feet away. We stood in the field, backs to the Burrow, staring out at the night sky.
"I honestly don't know. I've never been able to really understand them. Whatever he did to me in there, when he kidnapped me — it made me different." I wondered if I should tell Sirius about the prophecy. I hadn't told many people, aside from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I hadn't even told Draco.
"You took the blast for me, back at the Ministry last year. I don't know much about dark magic, but I know nothing can bring someone back from that," Sirius said quietly. "I guess I never really thanked you for saving my life."
I glanced at the man, worn down from all those years in Azkaban. I could see traces of prison tattoos tracing his neck and wrists, wrapping around his fingers. A man punished so severely for something he would rather die than do. I decided then that if anyone would be able to comprehend the idea of the prophecy it would be him.
"I haven't told many people this, but there's one more piece in play when it comes to my magic," I said slowly, testing out my raw voice. Sirius turned to me, watching with clear blue eyes.
"I didn't know this until after the ministry after I got my memory back, but Harry wasn't the only one with a prophecy," I said steadily. I turned my gaze to the sky, refusing to let emotions take control of me. Sirius was silent. "When I took the killing curse twice that night and didn't die either time, I knew something was up. Something that wasn't normal. It wasn't like Harry's situation, where his mother died to protect him. Though, I did think that at first. My brother, he jumped in front of the killing curse to protect me. So for years, I assumed I was just in the same boat as Harry. But after the ministry, I knew there was something else that was influencing my life."
"You're bound to a prophecy too?" Sirius asked. I nodded.
"My magic — that wand I had — was created for a purpose. Apparently, there's some spell that it has the power to handle. I don't know much about it, but the prophecy says that because that wand was made to serve one very specific purpose, the wand will protect its owner until that occasion arises. Nothing can kill the owner, but they will be beaten and broken over and over again until they are strong enough to handle the spell," I explained. Something was tightening and loosening over and over again in my chest. Sirius listened to my every word, the lines on his face growing.
"And what happens when the spell is cast?" he asked. I chuckled without humor, feeling my breath hitch.
"Take a wild guess," I breathed. Sirius glanced away, nodding.
"It kills the owner." I nodded. A cold breeze kicked up, sending shivers down my arms. Sirius turned back to me, studying my face. "You're not afraid of it, are you." Not a question. A statement.
I nodded slowly, lifting my chin. I lifted my hands, watching small flames dance between my fingers.
"Something like this — this power — it shouldn't exist. When I heard the prophecy, everything made sense. I can feel the truth in it, you know? I just hope it doesn't snatch me while Voldemort still walks this earth.
"Perhaps it is what we need to take him out?" Sirius suggested. I shrugged. I had entertained the idea over the year, thinking that perhaps the spell could override the horcruxes, but again that tightness in my chest told me that I was wrong. The spell was something different — something bigger than that.
"I have no idea. Dumbledore thinks I'll know when the occasion arises what the spell does, but for now, I have no idea. I only have about one year left to figure it out though," I muttered. Sirius turned to me, eyebrows furrowed.
"One year?" he asked. I took a deep breath.
"Dumbledore guesses that I have until my 18th birthday. Anytime after that — it could just sneak up on me. I'm not going to live to my 19th birthday though, that's for sure."
Sirius, after that depressing statement, turned back towards the sky and nodded. I knew he couldn't relate to what was resting on my shoulders, and he didn't try to. But he had this aura of maturity and history that most adults didn't have. I trusted him with this information.
"How many people know?" he finally asked.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore. McGonagall — I don't know who else. Madam Pomfrey might know since she worked on me that year. I wouldn't be surprised if Molly knew either," I said. "But I haven't told anyone else."
"Are you going to?" Sirius asked.
I shrugged. I hadn't really made up my mind. I truly didn't want others worrying about me. I was already beginning to regret telling Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The last thing I want is to be babied after my 18th birthday.
"I think people deserve to know, but I don't want to be protected. I've accepted my fate. But if anyone, anyone, tries to keep me locked away after my birthday, then I will be furious. There's no use trying to prevent this prophecy. I know that. But I'm going to put up one hell of a fight before my time," I said, with an air of finality. Sirius nodded.
With the breeze breathing down my neck, I decided it was time to go inside. I didn't wait for Sirius, who remained outside before I turned my back on him and went inside. Something in my chest was thrashing wildly, sporadically jumping and stalling and thumping. Tightening and loosening, scratching and soothing. It felt like my magic was aflame, pulsing underneath my skin and the weight of my own words sunk into my skin.
I was going to die, in a little less than a year.
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guys, i'm so sorry for the large gaps between updates. I know i said that i wanted to finish this book before the end of summer, but i dont know if that is possible. my summer is gonna be pretty busy because im actually going to be spending next year in France, living with a host family. i leave in a little more than a month, so i have to put most of my energy into that.
im really sorry about the lack of updates. i will try to get a few more before i leave, but ive had very bad writers block lately, and it's just really hard to get through some of the scenes. i will try to finish this up as soon as possible, please dont lose faith in me. but I will warn you that because im going to be spending time in france for so long, it may just take a little longer than I originally thought.
i am inexpressibly thankful for all of the love and support i have gotten on this book though. i couldn't be more amazed at how wonderful each and every one of you is. i mean, this book has over 100,000 reads! like, this is insane. I just want to thank each and every one of you for sticking with me and supporting my crazy imagination. i love you all more than you can ever know.
xx syd