Silver Tongue - A Hogwarts Legacy Fanfiction

Chapter 14: Pyrrhic

It had been a week since Maia was accidentally dosed with the failed Amortentia, and she had not spoken to Ominis even once in that time. He had tried, awkward, stilted words while his face flushed a deep pink, but each time she had turned and run away. She knew there was no use being angry with him, since he had only been there out of concern for her. What he had overheard was no fault of his own. So she had settled for being angry with herself for allowing the potion to take over her good judgement. She felt so very ashamed when she remembered the way she had cried his name, right before she saw him standing there in the doorway of her cottage. She didn't want to listen to him speak. Didn't want to hear the rejection she knew was coming soon. Of course that was why he wanted to speak with her. To let her down, tell her he wasn't interested in her attentions. That he didn't want her friendship if she was going to keep putting him in this position. She couldn't stand to hear it, so she simply avoided him instead, preferring to live in the delusion that their friendship remained intact.

In the interim, she had thrown herself into her lessons, as well as the mystery that was quickly brewing in the local villages and hamlets. Five more seemingly random attacks had been reported in the papers, all by previously harmless or solitary magical creatures. Creatures that would not usually wander into the middle of a town in search of victims. Just three days before, a beithir had terrorized the next town past Hogsmeade, stinging seven civilians with its venomous barbed tail before it was subdued. Maia was sure she would have to step in to fix these occurrences soon. Highwing had been full of Dark Ancient Magic, and since she was the only one who could see it, wield it, it was up to her to put a stop to it.

Her decision was made for her when upon entering J. Pippin's Potions, she caught the tail end of a message he had received via a small rabbit Patronus. "-have been trapped here all night. I fear for our lives. Please tell Ethel I love her dearly." A woman's voice finished, shaking and weary. Then the Patronus flickered twice, and was gone in a wisp of light. Parry Pippin, the shop owner was staring open-mouthed at the place where the rabbit had been. He hadn't even heard her come in.

"Is-" Maia began, "Is everything alright, sir?" She approached him cautiously, reaching a hand forward to touch his shoulder. He flinched, suddenly noticing her presence beside him.

His eyes were haunted. "That was my sister-in-law, Sylvia. She's up in Pitt-upon-Ford, and they're under attack I think. She said something about rampaging unicorns. Said there have already been casualties..." He looked back to the place where her Patronus had relayed her message to him.

"Forgive me sir," she said, shifting her weight uncomfortably, "...but why doesn't everyone just Apparate out, or Floo?" She didn't want to belittle their struggle, but it didn't make much sense to her.

He sighed sadly, shaking his head. "The aurors put an Anti-Apparation charm over the town a few weeks back after some talk of a dark wizard frequenting the area. Hoping to trap him there in the event of a raid, I suppose. Floo was shut down too. They'd have to leave their houses on foot to get past the wards, and if there are attacking beasts outside..." His voice trailed off.

"Then they really are trapped." She finished for him, understanding. "But what about the aurors? Surely they've heard and are helping."

He shrugged, his expression darkening with anger. "They really haven't been around lately to check on things. Heard there was some stirrings or trouble over near London, and they needed all the aurors they could get. Everyone else is probably too afraid to get involved. Unicorns are immune to most magic, and they're a protected species by law."

Maia frowned. Most magic... but probably not hers. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she sighed in resignation. "I'll go." Her voice sounded dull and lifeless. She didn't want to do this again. She still hadn't recovered from what she had done to Highwing. She still had nightmares. The screams, the blood, the flash of green light before the light left the hippogryph's eyes... She shuddered and fought back tears. Poppy still hadn't forgiven her. Likely never would.