-"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.
Jonathan Safran Foer
I'm instantly struck by the instant screaming I hear. My eyes snap open and I feel my mouth run dry at the sight I was seeing.
"Oh my gosh." I gape in horror.
"Hush." Tom's voice erupts beside me, almost giving me a damn heart attack.
I shriek slightly, jumping away from him, and eyeing his form angrily. I smack his shoulder. "You scared me!!" I snap at him, only for him to turn his annoyed eyes on me, moving to grip my wrist.
He tugs me to his side, my body flush against his.
"Look." He mutters and I ignore the way my whole body heated up to turn to stare at the vision we were seeing.
Ariana was strapped into a chair, looking dreadfully tired. Her cheeks were sticky and wet from her tears and she was screeching in pain.
My heart jolts and I unconsciously move closer to her, untangling myself from Tom's hold on me.
Her blonde hair was sick and cut short, blood dripped in every which direction. Her hands were scarred like someone who'd spent years cutting themselves.... only she wasn't cutting herself.
Grindelwald walks up, a glass filled to the brim with a gold liquid in his hands.
My mouth hangs open in shock as I watch him drown the contents of the glass. My stomach lurches and I find myself needing to sit on the floor, eyes trained on Ariana's convulsing form.
She was screaming in pain as witches extracted blood from every part of her body.
"LET ME GO!!! HELP ME!!" She shrieks, her mismatched eyes meeting mine for barely a second and I find tears whelming in my own eyes.
Ariana indeed was the one the prophecy was referring to.
Her blood shone with strong a golden tint, it didn't look like blood at all. Tom strolls beside me, moving to sit on the floor beside me.
"So she's the one." He points out, eyes trailing over my face with a sneer. "Why are you crying? This is her past."
"It's sad." I murmur softly.
"Hits close to home?" He drawls, making me whirl on him in anger.
"Shut up. You were lucky." I snarl. "No one did anything to you. You were unloved but you were safe."
My words make him shrug. "I'm not saying that's not true." He muses. "But I was abandoned too Dumple. I know what this-" He waves a hand in a circle. "-all feels like."
I give an angry snort. "You have no idea how wrong you are." I give him a sad smile.
"It's all over now." He scoffs. "She's loved dreadfully now. She has you and Aberforth."
My hostility instantly evaporates. "Are you...?" I giggle. "Are you giving me a pep talk?" I laugh, watching in utter bemusement as his jaw clenches.
"If you don't appreciate my words of wisdom-" He snarls, instantly going on the defensive.
"No!!! No!!" I demand, grabbing his arm and moving closer to him. "No. I appreciate it. Thank you." I smile up at him.
His eyes soften slightly and he gives me a curt nod. "Anytime."
"What does drinking her blood do?" I mutter under my breath, moving closer to him.
He doesn't shove me away and to my surprise, he moves even closer.
"Perhaps it makes him acquire more power... Pathetic. I would never need a tool to make me more powerful." He scoffs, rolling his eyes unimpressed.
I gaze up at him with an amused look. "Of course you wouldn't Tom," I reassure him.
Maybe just the elder wand....
"Is it doing anything!!???" A woman's voice sounds and the blonde bitch walks in, making my eyebrows furrow downwards in hate.
"Miranda." I scorn. My surprise is palpable however when Tom literally snarls under his breath.
"I will be the one to murder her." He hisses and my wide eyes, express my bewilderment.
Tom ignores me.
"No! I said I'd kill her!!" I snap at him.
"You'll need to beat me for her then." He gives me a smirk. I glare at him, nodding affirmatively.
"Deal," I smirk back, holding out a hand for him to shake. He grips my hand hard, shaking it firmly.
I loved holding his hand I realized. The realization makes me pull back hastily.
I get to my feet and Tom follows after.
"No. It didn't work... The book says to torture her." Grindelwald snaps. "She's not screaming enough. Put her through more pain." He snaps, and my eyes go to the book he was reading out of.
Tom seems to catch on and he's beside Grindelwald, reading the title.
"The Book of Merlin." Tom stares in surprise.
I'm at his side in a second, leaning over his shoulder to see better. "I thought Merlin was a myth," I say slowly and Tom nods.
"He's supposed to be."
"We need that book," I state. "We need to know what it says about her."
"Way to state the obvious Dumbledore." He snorts making me give him an unamused look.
"So what? We just find his headquarters and burst in, guns ablaze?" I drawl, striding backwards brushing up against his shoulder.
He nods, eyes darting around trying to see where exactly we were.
"Can't you apparate us into this room?" I ask him, pondering.
He purses his lips slightly. "I can." He agrees. "Unless there's an apparition block on the building, which there probably is."
"What about outside?" I smile, pointing to the window in the corner of the room.
His eyes light up and he nods, more confidently this time.
"Good work." He praises and I smirk.
We retract from Ariana's mind at the same time and I find myself blinking slightly, jumping back, hand going to Tom's thigh in my startled state.
"Ariana!!" I breathe. Her face was staring straight at the pair of us, eyes wide in wonder. She was literally millimetres from our faces.
Even Tom leans back slightly.
"H MOM! DAD!!!" She cheers and the amused smile that spreads on my face makes her grin. "Did you read my mind!?" She asks. "I felt you guys in here." She points to her forehead, animatedly.
"Yes." I nod at her. "Thank you for that."
She jumps off the bed and we move to follow her, silently.
"Are you alright?" I ask her and she nods, jumping at us in a hug.
"YEAH!!! I love you guys!!" She cheers, her tiny arms wounding around Tom and me, hauling us closer together. I place my hand on Tom's chest, steadying myself.
Tom steadies himself by grabbing my waist in a viper grip.
I try not to laugh at his bewildered expression.
I also notice how this time.... he doesn't push Ariana away.
The only emotion in his eyes when he stared at the young child.... was respect.
- It takes time to see the truth when all you're used to is lies.