The Greywitch Trials | Harry Potter AU

Brace

It was as if the world had tilted on its axis, and Eloise had finally been able to get a good gulp of air into her lungs. She could finally shed the last earthly ties she had and give it her most painful all. She was tired of running and hurting. 

There was only so much more she could've handled winding 'round in a circle, knowing damn well she was accomplishing nothing. 

Eloise's breath tangled in her throat as she dashed down the corridor, skidding to a halt in front of the door that led to the library and shouldering it open. The Witchlights glowed to life as she stumbled over to the table that was piled high with their weeks of research. She didn't know when exactly her hands had begun to shake, but she nearly dropped a scroll of Draco's Arithmancy calculations two times before she managed to get a hold of herself. 

A wave of cool indifference washed over her as she closed the doors within her mind on the fear, the anxiety, and most importantly, the hope. She didn't have time for hope. 

She raised her wand and made quick work of rolling up the map, Draco's final calculations and her hesitant Runic Configuration she'd constructed from the Gatlin Set Runes. Gathering the parchment in her arms, she spun around and stopped dead. 

Charlie's tall body stood at the entrance of the library, his warm brown eyes empty. He looked so lost standing there. 

"You should be with Ginny right now," Eloise murmured softly, injecting gentle warmth into her tone. 

His eyes dipped to the floor around her boots, not quite able to hold her gaze. It was a relief. Seeing that emptiness in him broke her heart in two. 

"I'm no help in there. I want to do something. Anything."

"Charlie ... " Eloise's cold fingers itched to drop the scrolls and reach out to cup his face in her hands; to pepper his face in kisses while she repeated that everything would be just fine. She sighed, "I'm going to the Point Break. If I can't bring it down now, then this will never stop happening. We'll keep losing people."

His eyes turned heavenwards, and he blinked repeatedly, "You can't. They've told me why we can't; you'll die."

Parchment crumpled under her grip. "I don't care!" She blurted finally, feeling a flush rise in her neck from her confession. "I'm tired of living like a caged animal. If there's even the smallest chance ... If my death frees us, then it's a small price to pay."

"The first time I saw you, I could see how much you were hurting. It was like this bright aura that leaked from you. I just knew that you were so much like glass; that you'd break at the slightest touch."

The frustration grew, lumping up in Eloise's throat like a swallow she couldn't quite get down. "What does this have to - "

Charlie stepped forward, eating the distance between them in three long strides. He reached out a hand as if to touch her, but he shied away at the last second, thinking better of it. "You've suffered too much. You don't owe this world - "

"Is that it, then? Do you just see me as another broken creature you need to fix? Do you even care about me, or do you just like the idea of caring for me?" She saw her words land like painful blows. She didn't care. All she wanted was for him to stand aside and stop the awful feeling in her chest. It was as if her lungs were filling with water, and she couldn't do a thing as she drowned on land.

Charlie physically took a step back, his face crumpled, "Is that what you think of me? That I'd use you to feel strong? I care for you because you're loyal and beautiful and strong in spite of all you've suffered through. That being said, I'd love you all the same whether or not you'd been forced to live through the horrors you've seen."