All Good Things

Chapter 20 - Siren's Song

Poppy

"And of course, this bloke has the gall to ask me for mercy! Me!" Garreth's eyebrows were high up on his forehead as he shared one of his many auror stories with the table, each of the three women in various phases of laughter. "So of course I had to break it to him gently. I was all... 'Sir, I'm only here to keep HIM from going off the deep end with you.' And Sallow fucking lost it. He was laughing so hard, I thought he might bust an artery."

Poppy leaned into Tori to steady herself, her chest heaving as she fought to breathe through her chortling. Her eyes were watering so much, she barely saw Adelaide hand her the napkin. It had been far too long since she'd spent any time with her friends like this, far too long since she felt like she could sit with them at a restaurant and enjoy their company without immense amounts of tension and jealousy.

It was nice to see both Garreth and Adelaide happy, having gotten married around a year after their graduation from Hogwarts. Poor Garreth had spent the majority of their later years pining after the Hufflepuff, and Adelaide was so dense it had been near impossible to convince her that he was interested in her. Now here they were, expecting their second child and enjoying their friendship with their ever enigmatic friend turned godmother.

Adelaide let out a surprised little 'oh', pulling Poppy from her suffocating laughter back into a fit of Giggles. The blonde turned to her husband, patting the ginger gently on the shoulder, her other hand resting on her protruding belly.

"Gare, darling, I need to go powder my nose. Do you mind?" Her smile made the tall red-head practically melt into a puddle at the table as he got up, pulling his wife's chair out so that she could stand. Adelaide's stomach stuck out quite far from her body, the rounded flesh practically engulfing her small frame. "Victoria, would you mind accompanying me? You know how taxing it gets the further into it we get."

"Of course, Addy. Pop, I'll be right back." Tori stood, circling around the table and hooking an arm into Adelaide's, the two women leaving Poppy and Garreth behind at the table.

Poppy sipped from her drink, folding one arm against her at the table. She raised her gaze to the man across from her, smiling softly at how enamored he was staring at his wife's retreating back. She cleared her throat, pulling his attention back to the table.

"So, how is little Liam? I haven't seen him since I came back to England." Poppy set the glass down, the ice clinking against the sides.

"Oh, he's wonderful, Poppy. He's quite the troublemaker. Drives Addy up the wall with his antics." Garreth laughed, a light amused sound. "Truly is a Weasley if I've ever seen one." He brought his gaze back down to her, his green eyes sparkling with mirth. "Never thought I'd live to see the day that you and Finch got together. Sallow and I had a running bet going since we graduated. The man owes me twenty galleons."

Poppy snorted, smirking as she furrowed her brows together. "You bet on me and Tori getting together?"

"Oh absolutely. I always said she had a soft spot for you, but Sebastian was adamant it would never happen. She's something special, you know." He downed his glass of whiskey, setting the glass on the table. "If she gave herself to you, you'd best believe it would take an act of Merlin himself to tear you from her."

That had the gears turning in Poppy's head. Tori had already made it clear she was in this for the long-haul, and she had been nothing but patient with Poppy since her confession. If anything, the taller witch seemed eager to permanently intertwine their lives, always going above and beyond to tell Poppy just how much she meant to her. She swept a brown lock behind her ear, smiling at the way Tori dragged her through the house to dance in the wee hours of the night, the soft kisses and caresses she shared throughout the day, and the kind, reassuring words that were always spoken when things got too quiet.

"My dear, sweet Poppy. I thought for sure I'd never see you again."

Poppy's train of thought was interrupted by the familiar and undeniably musical lilt. Her heart dropped, the blood in her veins turning to ice. She felt frozen to the spot, her ears ringing with the pounding of her blood in her ears. No. No, Merlin please. Please don't let her be here. Despite the empowering feeling of her rage when she received any correspondence, the mere presence of the woman was enough to draw out every ounce of dread she felt in her tiny being. Poppy slowly turned when she noticed Garreth was looking up from the end of the table, his brow raised in confusion as his eyes flickered between the presence there and her.

Standing at the edge was a tall, lithe woman, almost goddess-like in appearance. Her face looked like something out of a fairy tale, her features long and drawn, almost elven. Her slanted, icy blue eyes, despite appearing to hold some kind of warmth as they crinkled at the edges with her smile, were icy in their depths, piercing through Poppy like an arrow. The woman's skin glowed almost ethereally, the pale white practically shimmering with magic, accented beautifully by the long veil of white gold hair cascading down her back. This can't be happening. Why is she here?

Any words she had intended for the woman before her were stuck in her throat, the flame she had stoked so fervently in recent months reduced to nothing short of an ember. Oh, how she wished she felt that bravery she would have immediately thrown at anybody else. But that was the thing about this woman. She had the uncanny ability to snuff out any hope Poppy had left with a single look her way.

"Eliza." Her voice sounded strangled, the name being ripped from her lungs as if she'd been force-fed veritaserum. "What um... what are you doing here?"

She hated how small her voice sounded, as if the bravado she had fought so hard to bring back to herself had never been there at all. She didn't miss the way Eliza swept a hand to her hair, brushing it back behind her shoulder, the silver ring that sat on her finger glinting in the light.

"I should be asking you the same question, darling. Surely you're not here with this..." Her long, thin fingers flitted as she gestured to Garreth, his jaw practically on the floor at the mere sight of this woman, enraptured by the teal glint of her magic in her eyes. "friend... of yours. I saw you here, and I just had to come see you. I miss you."

Eliza had stuck her bottom lip out slightly, her features drawn up into a pout as she reached for Poppy's hand. Poppy quickly drew back, placing her hands in her lap and glancing desperately at Garreth for any kind of assistance.

"Come back home, sweetheart. It's not the same without you there." Eliza allowed her fingers to graze the table in front of Poppy, the closeness causing her heart to drop into her stomach.

"No. I'm here with my girlfriend. I'm not interested in whatever games you're playing." Poppy forced her gaze away, down to the table, fighting the unnaturally irresistible urge to look at the woman before her. "Please leave."

Her gaze was forced back to Eliza as the fairy-like woman gripped her chin with her hand, roughly yanking her head toward her. Poppy's vision was briefly obscured by the sway of her brown locks before her eyes locked with the once again cold, blue depths of Eliza's. She gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to push her off and cause a scene within the restaurant.

"You'll be mine again, darling. Just you wait. There are not many who can resist witches like me." Poppy's face was roughly released, and before she could look back up, the other witch was gone.

Garreth shook his head, his olive eyes flitting around the table for a second before he looked back up to Poppy. The expression he held was a combination of confusion and disbelief. He ran a freckled hand through his red waves, blowing out a puff of air between his lips.

"You never told me your ex was a half-veela, Poppy. That was-"

"I never wanted to. It would have forced me to acknowledge the reason I could never leave. I saw the way she locked you in with her magic. I imagine that starstruck look is the same one I wore for the entirety of the two years I was under her spell." Poppy twisted her hands together, her fingers aching where she'd curled them, a smattering of red crescent moons visible on her palms. "She's cruel, Garreth. Vicious in a way that only families like hers are."

"Wait. That's the half-veela cousin of Clarice Rosier?" Garreth's eyebrows were practically buried in his hairline, his jaw once again dropped low enough a graphorn could have climbed into it. "Tori's got her work cut out for her fighting that one, that's for sure."