A Dance In The Moonlight

Chapter Thirty-One- The Last Straw

Since the day of Fig's funeral, I hadn't really brought it upon myself to leave the Room fo Requirement. For meals... for sleep... nothing could bring me away from it. Even Deek had Poppy try to drag me out but I just couldn't find it in me to leave. Especially since looking at myself in one of the mirrors in here. Although it wasn't long- the new scar above my lip definitely was noticeable though. A mark to always remind me of that happened that day I suppose.

Today though would be the first day I had and it was only for one reason- Harlow. He had sent a letter to Natty, pretending to be Mrs. Bickle to lure us to an abandoned castle down in the South. I needed to finish him- to finish their entire evil empire.

I landed my broom on the outskirts of Manor Cape and could already see Natty, despite it being night out. She must have been hanging around Sebastian recently, as she was pacing back and forth before I had even landed the broom.

"Merlina! There you are! I'm so glad you received my owl." Natty exclaimed, rubbing up to me and attempting to hug me. I took multiple feet back though, holding my hands up in a defensive manner. Trying to control my breathing, all I could do was shake my head no. Luckily, she understood how I felt and nodded her head, waiting for my breath to get back to normal.

"How are we sure that this is Harlow and not a letter from the real Mrs. Bickle before we go charging in there?" I asked, finally composed and controlled breathing.

"I'm not sure if you remember Merlina but she had instructed us to stay out of it. Was rather adamant too, if I say so myself."

"Okay... so Harlow knows we saved Archie and that we rescued Mr. Rabe. If it is from Harlow, we now have the upper hand. We can prepare and-" I started but Natty interrupted me immediately.

"We are stronger than Harlow- especially you are. He knows that and sees us as a threat. That's why he feels he has to resort to the oldest trick in the book. We must go now." Natty demanded rather than suggested.

"I don't know if we should be rushing into this Natty."

"If he thinks we are aware of his plan, he might call off the ambush. We should behave as he expects us to."

I knew she wasn't going to listen to me. Sometimes, she could be just as stubborn, if not more than, Sebastian. I sighed and nodded my head, giving into her plan which received a wide smile. We ran up the cliff to the old house, seeing about twenty ashwinders waiting for us. I glanced at Natty, receiving one more nod.

We entered the battle, fighting off every single ashwinder that tried to come near us. We were back to back, surrounded by five men, with little to no breath. They just kept coming. That's when slow clapping from the shadows emerged and there stood Harlow.

"Aw look who I finally have caught in my web... little Natsai Onai and Merlina Wood. You know, you two have done quite a bit of damage to my business. But- I must give you some credit. What started as entertainment though became... remarkably problematic. Fortunately, I pride myself in my problem solving skills. Seems as though you were easier to catch than I anticipated."

"That's where you're wrong. Natty, do it!" I shouted. She casted protego while I casted incendio, making a ring of fire around me and hit Harlow. Each of his men started running off to try and put out the fire as I casted bombarda on Harlow next, causing him to fly into the air and land on the stone floor directly on his back.

Natty began to take care of the five guys while I watched him slowly stand. Flashbacks from my battle with Rookwood came as Harlow tried to cast crucio on me. Trying to fight it off, the rays of green vs red clashed just as it did with Rookwood, causing sparks to fly in all different colors until he had fallen down to the ground once more.

He was down. Natty and I had finally brought justice to the wizarding world. She had just got done fighting her last guy and cheered me on while I limped back towards her. Before I could even reach her though, she began running past me. I could watch her slowly turn into a gazelle, jumping, and taking a green ray of light directly to the chest.

Her mother ran to her side as she twitched, gripping onto Natty's body to try and hold her still. I knew what it was just based on the screams Natty was letting out... crucio. She took an unforgivable curse... for me. Officer Singer ran to Harlow, kicking his wand away and holding hers to him. We won but at what cost?

"You... go to Hogwarts. Let Nurse Blainey know Natsai and I will be there shortly." Her mother demanded, not even looking me in the face. I couldn't blame her. I nodded my head though and began riding my broom back to Hogwarts.

*****

Natty was cleared and alright to leave the hospital wing. We spoke, with her telling me not to blame myself but how could I not blame myself? Everywhere I go, the people I care about get hurt. First Ominis in the library, than Professor Fig, and now Natty. I keep failing and letting the people I care about down.

I entered the Undercroft and to no surprise, Ominis sat with his back pressed against a marble column, and eating a single, green apple while reading. His robe was off and tie undone, his shirt unbuttoned and showing his bare chest. I could see the scars all along his chest, no doubt from his siblings and parents, along with the faint abs that tried to hide but were unable. It only took a moment before a smile crept up on his face.

"You know, it's rude to stare darling." He teased. I muttered an apology after clearing my throat, looking down to the floor. "Merlina, I was only teasing. What's the-"

"I'm leaving Hogwarts Ominis." I announced, interrupting him. He turned his head shocked and immediately stood, walking over to me. He tried to take my hand but I immediately pulled away, looking up at him.

He towered over me. Although usually in this scenario, I would be entranced and running my hands all over him while smashing our lips upon one another, I couldn't.

"Why? Why are you leaving?" Ominis asked, now furious with me. He couldn't even hide it if he tried.

"Natty almost died because of me. YOU almost died because of me. Professor Fig... he did die because of me. Even my own mother died because of me. Ominis, I keep putting people in danger. I can't imagine what would have happened if that girl actually had killed you. So I'm leaving for a while... I'm not sure how long but I cannot keep people safe any longer." I explained. Tears slowly poured out of my eyes as I tried to get every word out.

"Merlina Wood, you need to listen to me very carefully. I only believed there was more to life besides sadness after I had met you. There is more to yours than being a savior- a knight of sorts. Yes, Professor Fig died but how many students, house elves, and teachers did you save in that process? Please Merlina... you can't leave."

I placed a soft peck on Ominis' face and bid him a farewell, before exiting the Undercroft. I loved him. I loved Sebastian and Poppy. I couldn't let them get hurt because of me any longer.