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11- Persephone
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"MUM!" The azure eyes jolted open. Her vision was shadowed by a glint of blue light, tears polishing her eyes and the little girl remembered. She was dying, she was on the verge of the death's kiss.
Yet there she was, alive.
Breathing heavily, her poor heart was pumping out adrenaline that kept her eyes open, aware of her surroundings. Only then, she was sat on a marbled table, and she peered down to her body. Gemma's porcelain skin covered with faintly visible sapphire flames. Every inch of her skin was devoured by the flames like she was parts of its being and existence.
Gammaliel didn't feel the heat of the amount of fire on her body, only her body's heat. Then her eyes flew away to search around her, where there were only the ferocious flames caging her from the view outside the border. She squinted her aquic eyes to what was happening before her.
There laid a man and woman, the man with long, rough raven curls was holding a woman in his hand. The pair of calloused hands touched either side of the woman's milky skin, caressing her cheeks. The man buried his head to her neck and murmuring something to the woman. Gammaliel could feel the surge of agony and pain that he felt.
The woman laid in her bright green dress, eyes shut and her lips parted. Her silky brown hair was sharing the same twisty DNA with the cursed girl. Lying weakly on the cold marbled floor and as it seemed, she was breathless and soulless. The great Old magic had been tricky and unfair at times.
"Dad!" Gammaliel called, sobbing at the pain he felt reflected towards her. The girl's eyes pooled with aqua beads rolling down to her cheeks.
The Irish wizard engulfed the woman he loved so dearly that he wouldn't let go. In the hope, her veins pulsated against his skin once again. He cursed on the three goddesses of Old-Religion to be sinister, to be malicious to take her away from him unnoticed. It was foolish for Austin to let his grieve took every drop of love out of him.
A fox's life for a girl's, whereas to take the girl's life back, a woman's soul was taken. Gammaliel's hands were covering her ears and eyes, voices of the woman sang her lullaby, echoed in her ears, and invaded the manor. She was gone, because of her.
Murderer!
Fire blazing higher and higher as emotion took over the girl's core of magic. Was it agony, was it grieve, or regret or maybe all at once. That was when the pure glass of water was polluted by darkness over a drop of ink called Morphine Avery.
"MURDERER!" came the boy's voice, his fingers were pointing at her, "She is a murderer!"
Her soul was void, she was a walking emotion in a vessel with destructive magic. A mixture of demonic and angelic, she tasted death and saw a glimpse of hell for barely a minute. She had met Hades himself, but the Goddess took her back into mortal's world. They pulled her to suffer and suffice a pain much more agonizing than death.
Once upon a time, Persephone was once the sweet goddess of springs named Koré. As the last strings of patience were taken over by wrath she had become something else, no longer deserving the name Koré. She renamed herself as a statute that she was the Destroyer: Persephone.
Gammaliel was no different from the queen of hell, she was a raging storm inside. And she could feel darkness grew within her before the darkness took over herself as her soul was polluted with ink. It was tattooed in the core of her heart, that she was the murderer of her mother.
"Gemma!"
The calming voice came before her and the cursed witch's galaxy was shaken. It wasn't real, she wished but that was all real. It was the torture she had to put up with, every first March the day she-devil was born. The day her favorite symphony was taken from her. Nefarious torture, nightmares are.
"Gemma! Wake up!"
This time, the voice was different. A gentle tap of her cheeks followed the next time her name was mentioned with exasperation. The Irish witch was mumbling soft noises out of her parted lips. Before she regained her awareness, reality returned to her.
Silence fell. Her eyes wide opened as she tried to regain her consciousness. There was a pain in the front right part of her brain, the scent of fuzzy sweet apricot invaded her senses. Sparking warmth in her chest, then she heard a long sigh from her side.
"Thank Merlin, you're awake." he breathed, his strong hands brushed the brunette's girl hair from her face. Her cerulean eyes widened and met his shade of cyan eyes, he offered a weak smile.
"Marty." she called weakly.
The blond swallowed harshly, nodding, "I know, you have your nightmare." he murmured, huffing as his breath brushed her skin.
Her realization returned as she looked around it was chandelier-lit in the Ravenclaw library. They lie down on a divan under the twirling stairs. It passed midnight from the absence of sounds but her own hitched breath. She might have forgotten that she asked him to stay there for the night.
Afraid she would annoy her dormitory mate if she woke up or screamed in her sleep. So she confided to him and he agreed, and since their second year, they were always there on the first of March. The blond would give her comfort and woke her up at times nightmare was too real and unbearable.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." the girl apologized as she nuzzled her face to his chest, which the boy frowned for her to apologize like that. She couldn't control it could she, he nodded anyway. His hand touched her hair for her comfort whispering sweet nothings.
"It's okay, Gem." murmured Martin to her, feeling fear radiated from her hoarse voice and trembling body, "I'm here, try to go back to sleep."
Martin McKinnon peered down at the girl as he smelled the scent of peony. He breathed deeply as his soul hammered to the now asleep girl. She had never told him the details but all he knew, the girl suffered the day of her mother's death.
He learned it from Alphard after visiting the girl on her 12th birthday. The young wizard just wished that she couldn't hear his hammering heart at her presence around him. He looked down at her, fuck her genetic pool, she was breathtaking: with that he gut up and landed a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"Good night, Gem."
***
The great hall smelled like sausages and treacle tart in the evening. Headache from the twisted macabre of nightmare and reality hammering her head like a hangover. Azure eyes narrowed and landed on the steaming cup of tea, she trailed the source.
A strong pale hand slid the goblet to her, then her lips curved into a weak smile. Her hand touched the nape of her neck, "Thanks, Marty."
The said boy nodded, "Drink up, Gem." sighing as his lips turned into line, "You look so pale."
Gammaliel batted her eyelashes down, hands were clutching onto her lower part torso. She was holding the obvious pain lurched within. But she couldn't rant out at him that she was having her womanly problem. Instead, as the boy busying himself to stuff his mouth with sausages. Her other hand reached the lukewarm goblet, placing it onto the surface of her robe.
Heaven, she closed her eyes letting a soft relieved sigh as the heat of the goblet spread rapidly to the pained part. A few strains of her hair fell off from to her forehead escaping her messy bun. Gammaliel was so tired, she loathed the idea of being anywhere but in her dormitory bed. Curling under the navy blanket, and ate lots of chocolate if that was possible.
And she thought she could enjoy her peace for once, until a bird origami flew in the great hall, students cackling trying to grab the paper bird but failing miserably despite the efforts. The paper bird passed the chaotic Gryffindor's table, arriving at its final destination: Ravenclaw's table.
Twirling around as the unexcited Gammaliel shot her head up to the bird. Martin McKinnon's eyes flew to the view while the Irish girl grabbed the message weakly with her fist. Placing the goblet of tea back to the table and tilted her head, "Black?"
Gemma nodded, it became a common view that the Regulus Black, the supposedly top of the class after herself in her year, would send this childish paper trick as a messenger. "Yes," she mumbled, eyes on to the unraveled notes, "He wants a tutor session, after this."
Martin cocked an eyebrow, "What for?" the taste of heavenly sausage suddenly washed out, plain in his palate, "He doesn't ask you to do his homework again doesn't he?" the boy inquired.
"No, he never asked again after I slammed it to his face." she mused, scrunching the paper, "Maybe he was ashamed after that."
The boy chuckled, one hand reaching a goblet of fresh pumpkin juice, "You Irish are harsh," mused the boy, "But not going to lie, he deserves it."
Gemma's brows raised at that, and with that she turned her attention to the Gryffindor's table. Where the four troublemakers just entered the hall. Ever since that night, Remus hadn't talked to her. Worse, he wasn't able to meet her eyes.
And that little note brought the Ravenclaw girl to the library after the feast. She bit her lips, dropping her gaze to the floor. Gemma pivoted on her heels turning to open the library door, her eyes frantically move to scan for an empty seat, her throat felt like restrained. Filled with acidic after taste that she was unsure where it came from.
Her gaze landed on a sandy-haired boy looking down to the defense against the dark arts section. His eyes scanning around the shelf, she hesitated but if the universe worked its way for her to talk to him again why not?
"Remus?" Gemma asked in a weak tone, the boy turned to face her. She swallowed hard leaving her lips parted, god she could throw up.
"Gemma." he called breathlessly, and her azure irises met a pair of welcoming russet eyes.
The boy clutched his bag, briskly packing at her sight as if he had seen a ghost, "Remus, can we—"
"I'm sorry," Remus said briskly his eyes widened he must be studying his O.W.L.s. The boy's lips pursed, his chocolate eyes darted to her mirroring guilt. His hand gripped onto the dusty brown bag clung on his shoulder, "I... uh... I have to go."
"Wait, Remus!" Gemma called but the boy darted out of the library faster than wolf.
Gemma seated herself on an empty chair, placing her elbows on the table, turning her head to find Regulus' presence, but it seemed he wasn't there yet. Tardiness. The Irish looked down to her stomach cursing in Gaelic to herself. She heard someone was clearing their voice. She looked over her shoulder to find a Slytherin boy, his grey eyes lingered to her.
That left the Irish with Regulus, hush fell between the two. Gemma sighed noticing the slightest weird stare he gave her, "You're early." he mused.
"The quicker the better." she stated, opening her bag to reach her book. His footsteps behind her as he pulled a chair on the other side. "I'm tired, Black. Be quick won't you?"
Regulus shifted and sat nearby her, she swiftly opened her note. The Slytherin boy examined her face, there was something sour on her, something ruined her mood. He could see it on the curved on her lips, or the absence of her annoying and snarky sentences.
Why am I looking at her?
She was in the middle of explaining the wand movement of casting cat to cauldron. Regulus was battling his thoughts, he was not looking at her, he did it to everyone Regulus assured himself. He was observant didn't he? he knew how people behave so he could create absolute hell for them who do him wrong. The boy ruffed his raven hair, biting his lips with brows furrowed.
A small wince escaped from her lips, damn you womanly problem. Testosterone just did its job inside her body, great. Punching her lower part as the girl wished to be born a boy instead.
"Black." She cleared her throat, and he tilted his head with a thinking frown. "Can we stop here?"
"We just started, Zygo." the Slytherin pointed at his half-finished parchment. The girl pursed her lips and nodded knowingly.
Gammaliel raised her hand, "But I—"
"I didn't teach you or share that piano for free to you. Besides I have to finish this homework today." Regulus cut her off, brows furrowed.
"Right." she replied weakly.
What an asshole.
Black returned to his parchment, while the Irish girl dropped her quill. Her vision slowly grew hazy, spinning around like some nargles was toying with her retina inside her eye sockets. Gemma touched the temples of her head, the pain came like a wave from her sides.
"Black." she called softly. "I need to go."
"You're not going anywhere before I finish this." his eyes fixated on his parchment.
Gammaliel huffed once again, her breath heaving as she felt cold wrapped her exposed skin. Wave of heat spread on her head along with hammering pain in her head. The girl fought the urge to close her eyes until the pain forced-shut her eyes and it was blank.
The scent of peppermint once again woke her up in soft alarming waves. Slowly she opened her tired eyes, and her gaze landed on a stern-faced woman, the school mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey.
"Hard day?" question the mediwitch, handing a cup of steaming liquid to her. "Drink this it will make you feel better."
The Irish girl took the cup and worked her way sipping down its nectarine-tasted contain. Gemma scrunched her nose, "What happened?"
"Just the usual. You overworked yourself while you're on your monthly cycle." explained the matron briefly. She shook her head as the Irish witch gave a sheepish grin. "This happened too often, Miss Zygo. You ended up here nearly every month, I think you should consult a mediwitch to prescribe you with something."
"Something?"
"Medicine," Madam Pomfrey began, her voice sounded calmer as she added. "Your monthly cycle is irregular. They have all kinds of medicine to help you regulate your hormon and reduce the pain. It comes in pills, injection, implant, or infused tea."
The Ravenclaw blinked slowly, "Isn't that the medicine you give to woman to prevent...babies?" she asked innocently, "I recall my mother used to take the tea every morning."
"Yes, but that's not the only benefit you have from consuming it. A lot of young woman who have problems with their cycle took them." the matron explained, she withdrew a record from the side table and flipped over to skim Gammaliel's health record. "You have a family mediwitch, yes?" she asked again, "How about I send an owl to their office and you can set a consultation later this summer?"
"Oh, that sounds wonderful. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Gemma peered down at the potion and basked the warmth around her palms. She darted her gaze around and the sudden realization sank into her mind. She narrowed her eyes, "Hang on, how did I get in here?"
"Black brought you here." said Madam Pomfrey, the girl's azure eyes widened. Every muscle on her arms felt tensed to the realization, Regulus Black brought her there. Shit.
"When you're finished with that," Pomfrey eyeing the cup of potion, "You're good to go." she stirred to the side and paused then she pointed at the table by her side, "Oh, he left you something."
Gemma turned her head to the table, where laid a black tin can. She reached it with one hand, noticing a note written above it. Hastily, she opened the can to see what was inside it. Much to her surprise, it was tiny pieces of chocolate. She took one, trusting her gut thinking if he poisoned her with it, she was in Hospital Wings after all.
The chocolate melted on her palate and seared her mouth with delicacy, and something else. Something fruity, pomegranate seeds. Gemma tore her gaze to the note as she was thinking it was his demand for causing quite a nuisance for him.
You owe me, Zygo. - RAB
Author's note:
If you understand the
pomegranate reference
I love you!