𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 | 𝑶𝑩𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑰𝑨𝑻𝑬 ─ 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝

⭒๋⭑

Like any uncharted territory

I must seem greatly intriguing

You speak of my love like

You have experienced love like mine before

But this is not allowed

You're uninvited

An unfortunate slight

𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 ─ Alanis Morissette

─────▕⃝⃤─────

The glade is sinisterly dark. I only hear the sound of my footsteps gently crushing the brown and golden leaves on the ground.

The bow weighs uncomfortably in my left hand, with its innards of marble and willow wood. The bluish glow flickers like flames, being my sole source of light besides the grand Patronus by my side.

A snow leopard. Majestic and fierce, it acts as my protector against the dark creatures that might lurk in the forest's gloomy shadows.

I spot a fragile and unsuspecting hare in the distance, with its long and fluffy ears. An easy target.

I stop, panting. I grab an arrow, notch it, stretch the string feeling my muscles burn slightly with the weight. Despite the years, this slight burning never goes away.

I release the arrow. A single blue streak spirals through the air, hitting the target squarely.

Then, before I can walk to claim my prize, I hear a rustling of leaves behind me.

I turn, startled. A stag stands there, staring at me with its deep, melancholic eyes. It has huge, branched antlers that resemble the branches of an ancient tree.

My heart skips for a millisecond. It's as if all the air in my lungs has vanished.

There's a single mark on its chest. Like a tie, the Gryffindor tie my brother wore when he first transformed into an Animagus. His kind eyes stare back at me. And they familiarity makes me gasp

"James?" I stammer, disbelieving what I see.

The stag doesn't respond. It just looks at me with a sad and resigned expression.

Disappointment hits me like a swing. "It's not James," I tell myself, feeling tears prick my eyes. "No, it can't be. He's dead."

I wake up as fast as lightning.

It seemed so real, so vivid.

I look at the walls, dazed, trying to focus on reality.

The house is irritatingly silent. No Harry laughing through the corridors, no Nymphadora tripping over her own feet.

I shiver at the silence.

I've never come to terms with this empty house. And it haunts both my mind and my soul.

All my life, I've always had someone by my side. My father, my mother, James, Andromeda.

Even when my mind tormented me, there was Andromeda to stop me from falling into my own abyss.

"You're not alone. You have me," she would say, with her sweet voice as she braided my hair. The same ritual since I was eleven.

"I'm your best friend, silly. I'll be by your side forever."