Spectre: The Dark Riddles #1

44: Augurey

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The term "Grey," as it involves ghosts, used in this chapter and throughout the rest of Volume Two, was inspired by the Alex Stern series (Ninth House; Hellbent) by Leigh Bardugo (an awesome, brilliant fantasy/magical realism writer whose works I have devoured voraciously). Both pertain to ghosts and death; however, whereas Bardugo coins the term in reference to actual ghosts and spirits themselves, I have used the term to describe someone who has encountered death and can therefore see the ghosts of the dead whose bodies were never properly disposed of.

"There are a great many beasts and creatures thought to be omens of death, and the augurey is one of them. Specifically, it is believed by some that the mournful cry of this Irish Phoenix foretells death, although any magizoologist who has done their research knows this bird simply cries to signal oncoming rain."

--from the journals of Elastra N. Malfoy, 1999

***

SEPTEMBER 1997

Two days pass. Two blissful, dream-like days, filled with moments I never thought I'd get again. Tom takes me to my family's Italian villa. Something about a wooden table and a promise he made a while back. We learn every inch of each other's bodies until we're satiated and exhausted. I show him my favorite spots in Verona, the bookstores and cobblestone streets I often lay awake thinking about. For the first time, I let myself imagine a future with him: summering in the mountainside, exploring the forests and oceans with our children, growing old together. Though it still feels like a dream, it's finally possible.

But every dream ends. Mine comes to a soul-crushing stop so drastically that I do not have time to anticipate the blow. It isn't when the Ministry of Magic tries Theo and Mattheo for their war crimes, or even when Theo is pardoned, and Mattheo isn't. It isn't even when Rowena and Theo announce that they're dating and will likely be moving in together within a matter of weeks.

Rather, it's in the front yard of Lethe, just after Tom and I had returned from a quiet lunch where we both mourned the sudden absence of Mattheo.

I had told Tom I was going for a walk around the property to clear my head. That isn't quite true, though. Instead of walking the manor's perimeter, I head towards the edge of the magical boundary. The wards here are similar to those protecting Hogwarts, although these feel much more... alive, almost. I have a hunch as to why. I need to know if I'm right.

I hover just on the outside of the boundary. I can tell where it ends because the late summer sun burns rather than warms. Within the boundary line, the weather is always perfect. Just beyond it, the heat becomes much more unpleasant.

I hear the voice before anything else. No footsteps, just that hollow sound of someone long since dead. "Elastra Malfoy."

Ten feet away, a ghost hovers between the oaks. She isn't like a Hogwarts ghost. Her skin isn't translucent, and the death blow she'd received is nowhere on her body. But I know she's dead anyways. There is a frequency to her, an energy that's different. She's out of place like a snowstorm in mid-June, or a pale Thestral.

"Abelina Lupin," I breathe.

She looks half-amused, half-intrigued. "You recognize me?"

"I--yes." Where do I even begin? "I read your journals. Your daughter is my best friend--"

She notably softens at the mention of Rowena, and I decide that now isn't the time to hash out the details of our previous bad blood. She asks, "You're the one who found my journals?" Then her expression returns to amusement as she answers her own question. "Of course. I should have known--it all makes sense now..."