"It came without warning
Now I'm wounded
You're so ruthless darling"
»Blood Red, The Maine
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When Harry returned home after dropping Rory off at her door and apologizing to her dad for how late it was, he found a note from his mom in the kitchen informing him that Anne had gone out for dinner with some friends from work and she would be late. She had left food made for him and Harry thanked her mentally because he was starving and didn't have much energy to cook.
Everything that happened in the evening had left him exhausted, especially the events with Rory. Even though he should be thinking about what they had found out about Joseph and how close they were to probably ending all this madness and nightmare, Harry couldn't get Rory and what they had done out of his mind. Ever since he'd tasted her addictive lips and kissed against that bookshelf and then in that church office how she'd felt around his fingers, warm and tight, her sensual, sweet moans had been the most perfect symphony to his ears. He had felt drunk and dizzy just watching her facial expressions of pleasure and her huge smile of satisfaction.
All that had only made Harry want her more intensely, he needed her in every way. But beyond the sexual, Harry adored Rory, his heart had always belonged to her and now he just wanted to be always with her, to protect her and make her happy, because Rory in such a short time had made him feel alive again. When he had once felt dead, lonely and desolate, she had came to his life at the perfect moment. Not only to save him, but to let him know that he could still be happy despite the misery he was living through. Her light was as radiant and precious as the moon and the sun. He was willing to sacrifice himself for her, to die for her.
But he begged to any higher being to give them a chance to get out of this, to be able to pack their things and leave that town together.
No one was going to make him feel the way she did, maybe they were a couple of kids but Harry felt she was the one, his soul recognized her and longed for her.
Looking at the pendant around his neck and the rings on his hands, he smiled letting out a dreamy sigh as he cleaned up a bit the mess he had made in the kitchen. Black Dog by Led Zeppelin was playing on the radio and Harry was singing loudly and washing the dirty dishes to the rhyme of the song, moving his shoulders and shaking his ass. Arabella lay lying on the floor staring at him as if he had gone mad and the music was so loud to her old ears that she left the kitchen to take refuge in a quieter place.
"Heyy babyy, Oh babyyyy, Pretty babyyy, Move me like you're doin' nowww..." He sang making faces, mimicking the electric guitar solo with a spatula which he then put it away in the drawers. It had been a long, long time since he had been in such a good mood and enjoying the music this way.
When the song and his cleaning job in the kitchen were over, Harry went to his room to take a shower and although he thought about getting ahead of the homework he had due for Monday so that the next day would be dedicated to Rory and helping her with the spell, the bath had made him very sleepy. There was no way he could stay awake, his eyes were closing and he was yawning every second. He took off his rings and necklaces leaving them on his desk and stayed in just his underwear, he liked sleeping like that.
But then a noise outside his room alerted him. Harry thought it had been the breeze and tree branches bumping against his window but the sound had come from outside. He checked around and Arabella wasn't in his room, so maybe it had been her from some corner of the house but Harry knew that in the situation he was in, it could be the fucking spirits that wanted to disturb him. Letting out a sigh and squeezing his eyes shut praying that it wasn't them because he was exhausted and wanted to sleep, he opened the door to his room and started calling his cat.
"Arabella? Come here, sorry I left you outside."
Harry with stealthy steps crossed his hallway and waited to hear the chimes of her necklace but there was absolute silence. This time the noise that interrupted the previous silence came from the breeze blowing in through an open window that had collapsed a wooden ornament to the floor. The curtains were dancing due to the strong, cold breeze. Harry frowned because he swore he had closed all the windows before going up to his room.
"Arabella, where did you go?" Harry called again but she didn't appear. Either she was ignoring him and was asleep somewhere, or...Maybe she had slipped out the window into the courtyard. Harry growled in annoyance and first searched his entire living room and kitchen. Seeing that his cat was nowhere to be found, he decided to check outside.
But there was something, a bad feeling he had. At this point, he didn't know if it was his sixth sense or if it was his usual paranoia.
He opened the front door, the chilly breeze made him shiver for being only in his boxer. He looked around his neighborhood and seeing no neighbors outside, he stepped barefoot on the cement of his driveway and started calling Arabella. The grass tickled his feet and his arms were crossed from the cold.
"Fucking cold, Arabella where the bloody hell are you?" he mumbled walking into the backyard that only had a table with four chairs, a swing he used to use as a kid, his mom's pretty garden and a storage room where they kept tools and other stuff. The swing chair moved in the wind creating a high pitched sound, the leaves and branches brushed against each other, the huge moon shone overhead and the nocturnal animals sang in vigil.
Harry checked inside his mom's garden, behind the bushes, by the swing set, under the chairs, he even peeked into the house next door and there was no sign of Arabella. The storage room was locked and had no windows. Normally if she went outside she was in plain sight in those places, she was too old to climb trees or sneak off to other houses, she always kept close by. At this point Harry was getting worried because it was strange.
When he decided to go back into the house and check again, he caught something out of the corner of his eye that made him stop in his tracks.
Behind some garbage cans the tip of a black and white furry tail was peeking out, Harry swallowed dryly and felt his heart stop instantly. With terrified steps and muttering that please it wasn't what he was thinking, he approached the bins and peered out with trembling hands, wishing he had never seen that. Harry fell to his knees to the cold grass and shook his head repeatedly with tear-filled eyes.
"No, no, no, no, no, shit, A-arabella, Oh my God."
His cat lay lifeless with a gash on her neck, blood spilling out and staining her soft white fur and bell collar, her blue eyes wide with terror, the feeling she witnessed before she was gone forever. Harry stood petrified looking at the pet that had been with him most of his life, tears streaming unceasingly from his eyes, not knowing how the fuck that had happened.
Harry reached out his trembling hand and caressed her stomach which was not moving, not breathing, and her heart was not beating. His fingers were stained with blood and he couldn't bear the weight of his body so he sat down completely on the grass and put his palms to his eyes pressing them with rage and pain, shaking his head in disbelief and wishing he was dreaming. An image he would never be able to erase from his mind. Harry felt the urge to vomit and how his chest compressed, preventing him from breathing properly.
"Bella...who the fuck did this to you, who!!!?"
And his answer came within seconds as he felt someone or something rip into his back and squeeze his bones, making him scream in pain falling backwards writhing. The lights began to flicker and Harry still groaning from the pain, watched from the ground as the shadow of Joseph, the black robed man, floated towards him emitting a ghoulish, devilish laugh that caused a sick, hollow feeling in his stomach.
Harry tried to get up but the man raised his hands and it was as if whips and ropes of fire were beating and binding his body, leaving bruises on his skin and cuts on his stomach. Harry wanted to act brave but Joseph was hurting him so badly that he couldn't even get up, only writhe and curse from the pain. He regretted taking off the magical gemstone that Rory had given him.
Rory...Was she okay? Had the robed man done something to her? His panic began to rise, he needed to get out of there and go all the way to her home to make sure she hadn't been hurt.
"I-it was you son of a bitch, you killed my cat!! did you do it in revenge, Joseph Crankovitch?" The man stopped abruptly at the sound of his name and Harry laughed full of rage "I already know e-everything you did, you're a scumbag, a disgusting sick pedophile and a murderer, you deserve to rot in hell and you'll see that's where you'll go soon enough, where you've always belonged."
Joseph strode forward swiftly, causing the leaves and branches of the trees to shake in a frenzy. Harry coughed and gasped as he felt the air in his lungs being held back and his neck being strangled lifting him into the air. The robed man pushed him into a nearby tree and Harry squeezed his eyes shut in pain from the impact of the rough trunk on his back and head.
He was beginning to feel the pressure in his head from the blood and when Joseph approached within inches of his face, a face he had never seen before and it was the most horrible thing he could have ever witnessed apart from the bloodied and lifeless body of his cat, he thought then that maybe that was the real end of him, that the robed man was going to kill him for not having carried out his threats and for having defied him.
But apparently Joseph Crankovitch had other plans. Suddenly Harry's eyes turned completely black as they had done that time in the bathroom, his mouth opened and his body stopped struggling, becoming static. The robed man began to laugh in the same ghoulish, diabolical way.
And that was the last thing Harry remembered before he fell unconscious to the grass in the cold night, with thousands of bruises and wounds on his body.
(...)
Rory paced anxiously through the aisles of the library sorting books, with a tightness in her chest of worry and uncertainty because she hadn't seen Harry since last night and he hadn't gone to school that day. She called him and left messages but he didn't answer, Rory went to his place after school and even though his bike was parked at the curbside, no one was home. She tried to cast a spell to locate him but she couldn't see him anywhere. Rory wanted to keep looking for him but she had missed three days of work and if she missed another day she would be fired.
Rory was scared and had a bad feeling because it was so strange for Harry to disappear like that. Her heart kept pounding loudly with anxiety and worry, because him giving no sign of his whereabouts indicated only one thing: the robed man had done something to him. Shaking her leg with stress and staring at a fixed point on the desk where she sat, unable to concentrate on the spell book she had camouflaged with other books, she waited impatiently as the last grain of the imaginary hourglass in her head dropped indicating that she could take no more. Rory could no longer stand there in the library while Harry was missing.
Her boss was nearby so she couldn't just leave, even though the library was empty because it was Friday, but remembering that she was now a witch and could use her powers to her advantage from time to time, or always, Rory made sure the old lady wasn't watching her so she then raised her hand and made the woman fall passed out in the chair where she was sitting.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Danfort." Rory apologized gathering her things quickly, she would make up some excuse later if her boss ever asked, but there was no time now, Harry was more important.
With her backpack slung over her shoulder and adjusting her coat on her body, Rory ran to the door to lock it and just as she was about to head to her bike, she stopped abruptly as she saw who was standing to the side of her bike with arms crossed staring at her, a cigarette burning at the corner of his lips.
Harry had a little smirk he formed at the sight of her. Tousled curls, wearing all black, eyes that looked tired and extremely dark green. The dark circles under his eyes startled her. And there was something about his gaze that seemed different, somber. His skin and lips were pale, and Rory noticed Harry wasn't wearing his rings or necklace.
"Hey, baby doll, I was waiting for you."
Harry cocked his head to the side, pulling away from the wall, holding the cigarette between his fingers to take a couple more puffs and then flicking the butt to the ground and crushing it with the toe of his black boots.
Rory wrinkled her nose at the nickname, Doll? Since when did Harry call her that? It wasn't that she didn't like the pet name it was just weird. She furrowed her brows approaching him cautiously, not knowing whether to be relieved that he had appeared or wary because he looked...sick and strange. She was finding out that Harry smoked nicotine, she thought he only smoked weed.
It wasn't until she was closer that she noticed some red marks on his neck and stifled a gasp, but he didn't seem affected and just grinned like it was nothing, but it wasn't a sincere smile, it was a sarcastic one. She reached for her bike, scrutinizing Harry with some suspicion and concern.
"Where had you been? Damn it Harry, I was so scared. You didn't go to school and you weren't at home when I went looking for you, you weren't answering my texts and calls."
He grimaced a little and sighed apologetic " 'm sorry, my mom was feeling ill and I was with her all morning and afternoon at the hospital. I forgot my phone at home."
Rory furrowed her eyebrows and scanned his appearance again, maybe that's why he looked this tired and sick.
"Oh... what happened to her? is she okay?"
"Yeah, some indigestion, don't worry, she's fine now." Harry made a motion with his hand and then brought it up to Rory's hair stroking a few strands and also her jaw "You look very beautiful today, baby doll."
"Baby doll?" Rory let out an awkward giggle, feeling how cold his fingers were. Harry shrugged and pulled his hand away, looking around absently.
"That's a cute pet name, like you, are you done with work yet? I'm starving, I haven't eaten in ages, shall we go for burgers and strawberry milkshakes?"
"Mmm, wasn't it that you didn't like strawberry milkshakes?" Rory cocked her head to the side and started walking rolling her bike, Harry following in her footsteps with a slightly odd gait. He shrugged again and thundered a few fingers raising his arms above his head.
"Well I changed my mind."
Rory paused biting the inside of her cheeks and walked across placing herself in front of Harry causing him to stop "H, are you okay? You look really pale and tired, like you're sick, and what the fuck happened to you here?" Rory reached up to touch the bruises on his neck but he grabbed her wrist quickly squeezing it and turning his face serious, Rory frowned and parted her lips surprised by the strong grip and his attitude. Harry then loosened the pressure on her hand immediately and formed an apologetic smile, removing the seriousness on his face.
"I'm fine, Rory, just hungry and sleepy, can we go get the burgers?"
Harry started walking again and Rory stood there silently for a moment, totally confused and staring at her wrist that had turned red in seconds. He realizing that Rory wasn't following him turned around looking at her with both eyebrows raised.
"Aren't you comin'?"
"It's...this way." Rory replied slowly pointing to her right, the opposite direction from where Harry had been walking. He let out a small chuckle and tapped his forehead lightly, stepping back towards her.
"Of course, I got confused, how dumb."
"Harry." Rory called after him, paying attention to every move or gesture he made. He hummed without looking at her "Remember we have to go to my place so you can help me with the spell, I found two that might work." She informed him and Harry nodded absently.
"You think they'll work? That demon is very powerful." Harry let out a chuckle and watched her teasingly. Rory pursed her lips.
"Well I hope so, I'm pretty powerful myself."
"That'll have to be seen." Harry muttered, grinning at a girl walking past them. Rory opened her mouth and folded her arms somewhat offended, more at the comment than how he smiled at that blonde.
"Excuse me?"
"Hey, just kidding Rory, of course you're very powerful." Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly, with the other one he helped her carry the bike. Rory said nothing and let out a sigh.
"Where are your rings and necklaces? You have to wear them all the time, Harry, remember they keep you protected."
"Oh, yes, I know, they're in my room, since I left in a hurry with my mother I forgot to put them on."
"Okay..." Rory nodded and realized that they had already arrived at the restaurant where they always went to eat burgers, it was near the library. But before they entered the place, she grabbed Harry by the forearm and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. He tensed for a few milliseconds but then hugged her back "You really had me scared, don't disappear like that again, please."
"I won't, love. I'm okay, 'm here."
Rory closed her eyes and buried her face in Harry's neck, planting a soft kiss near his throat "I thought that evil priest had done something to you."
Harry shook his head and let out a low chuckle, pulling Rory's body tighter, running his hands all over her back and waist, smelling the pleasant scent of her hair.
"He didn't do anythin' to me, I'm better than ever."
And what Rory didn't see, was the wicked, sadistic smile Harry had on his face. Because she was right, there was something different about him.
Now she not only had to banish the evil spirit of Joseph Crankovitch and break the curse of the haunted house, but bring Harry back who was lost on the other side. He just had to realize that the curly-haired boy she was hugging was not really Harry but that priest willing to interfere with her plans and finish them for good.
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Omg void STYLES ???
I'm sooooooo sorry for updating this late :( i wanted to finish this story before October ended but i traveled and then got busy and didn't have time or inspiration to write and had my other fics in Spanish to update too
thanks if you're still reading this lmao ily <3 don't forget to vote and comment i like to know what you guys think, spam me idc lsbfke
btw, i should go to hell for doing that to Arabella :(((( i didn't want to but...
-ci