Across The Worlds

chapter 24: Blood on Roses

The sound of a shoe stepping and drops of water falling echoed through the dimly lit cell. She began to wake up, her vision blurry and her body lying on the cold, rough ground. The metallic scent of blood filled her nose.

Disoriented, she had no idea where she was or what had happened. Slowly, she raised her head from the ground, wincing as she felt a throbbing pain at the back of her skull. Her fingers brushed against the sticky warmth of a wound, and she grimaced, pulling her hand away to see her blood smeared across her fingertips.

She looked down at herself, taking in the rough, prison-like clothes that reminded her of the ones Draco had worn. Panic began to rise as she tried to piece together her fragmented memories.

There was a man, dragging her across the floor. The world had gone dark so suddenly. She struggled to remember more, but the details were elusive.

Footsteps approached, the sound of hard-soled shoes against the stone floor. She knew that gait well, and as the man stepped into the thin beam of moonlight streaming through the small windows high in the walls of Azkaban, she recognized his face. Simon. They had met once before, and she hadn't forgotten his cold, calculating stare. His face, now illuminated by the moonlight, looked demonic, like a predator stalking its prey.Simon gazed down at her with a look of challenge in his eyes. He spoke sharply, his voice cutting through the silence.

"Three days I've been trying to tame you, just so I can throw you into a dungeon. What kind of demon are you? You've killed three hunters in two days, and yet I can’t seem to do anything to stop you."She glared back at him, defiance flickering in her eyes despite the pain and confusion clouding her mind. Whatever had happened, whoever she had become, she would not go down easily. Simon's face twisted into a cruel smile as he watched her struggle to sit up."Welcome to your new reality," he sneered. "Let's see how long you can survive."

Simon extended his hand through the prison bars, gripping her neck with brutal force. He shouted, "If you think you and your friends have ruined my revenge, you're the dumbest person on the face of the earth!"

She responded with a mocking smile, "The dumbest person on the face of the earth had a chance to kill me a year ago, but his damned pride got in the way."

She laughed hysterically. Anger flared in Simon’s face as he slapped her hard.

Her own anger surged, her eyes blazing like fire. She raised her hand, and her tattoos began to glow. Flames erupted from her palm, forcing Simon to dodge and run, panting heavily.

With a terrifying voice, she snarled, "Listen here, you child-murdering scum. I'm not making threats. Winning this round doesn't matter, but believe me, one day I will return to this cell because I killed you in front of everyone. Don't think my hands are clean like others; they are stained with blood just like yours. You have no idea what darkness lies within me—darker than your entire history."

He glared at her defiantly, spat on the ground, and yelled for the guards, "Bring Dr. Walter!" Then he left.

Mariam calmed herself, sitting down to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, trying to remember the last thing that happened.

All she recalled was luring one of those hunters to the old church. Knives had flown everywhere, and she had unleashed fire upon him, but he was strong enough to fend off her attacks. She had risen off the ground, but he yanked her down with a chain, cutting her leg with a knife. She screamed in pain.

Suddenly, Kelly burst into the church, shouting her name. She turned to the hunter, who was advancing towards him. Mariam threw fire at the hunter to distract him and yelled at Kelly, who stood frozen in shock.

"Kelly, run!" she screamed.

The hunter turned back to her. She fought him until he landed a second blow, and blood began to pour from her. Kelly rushed towards the hunter to try and stop him. She feared for him, knowing the hunter could kill him in an instant. Desperately, she opened a portal and threw fire again at the hunter to keep him away from Kelly.

She screamed at Kelly to go through the portal. He refused, but she kicked him into it and shut it.

Turning back to the hunter, her rage boiled over. She grabbed a piece of broken glass from the ground and attacked. She took the chain and dragged him, snatching a fallen dagger as her eyes turned red and her tattoos blazed. She slashed the man's throat, and blood splattered everywhere, covering her dress and face. She tried to leave the church to join the others, but three more hunters appeared. She fought them until she was exhausted. Just as she was about to land a blow on the last one, one of them injected something into her neck, and she collapsed, her breathing labored, her heart racing. Her vision blurred as one of the hunters struck her on the head, knocking her out completely.

The hunters carried her away and disappeared.

Kelly returned to the church, frantically searching for her. He found the floor drenched in blood, Mariam's shoes, pieces of her torn dress, and the flowers from her hair soaked in blood. Tears filled his eyes; the shock made it hard for him to breathe. He ran out of the church, screaming her name, but she was gone, vanished as if she had never been there.

Many hunters had attacked the wedding. George, Pansy, Blaise, Ginny, Hermione, and Draco fought to fend them off. The hunters were faster and stronger. One threw a knife at George, who wasn’t paying attention. Pansy pushed him out of the way with her wand, but the knife lodged in her chest. Blood spread across her white dress as she fell. Everyone froze for a moment.

George, stunned by the shock, screamed, holding her in his arms, "Pansy, please, stay with me. Don’t go... Pansy, look at me, don’t go."

She looked at him, tears streaming down her face as she took her last breaths. "I told you before this world doesn't love us, but you said you loved me. I love you too. Goodbye, George."

She closed her eyes, smiling one last time at the world that had never loved her. She left when it finally showed her love for a moment, only to betray her once more.

Suddenly, the hunters decided to retreat.

Everyone tried to chase them in anger, while Pansy lay in George's arms, silent and serene.

An hour passed. Everyone was silent, everyone was crying.
Ginny felt regret deep inside. She had wished for Pansy to stay away from her brother, treating her harshly in her final days. She had been cruel enough to the poor girl.

Luna arrived at the house to check on Theo, who had gone home drunk. But she found the door open, fear creeping into her heart. She drew her wand and cautiously entered.

She stepped on broken glass scattered everywhere in the half-destroyed house. "Theo... Theo... where are you?" she called, following a trail of blood to the bedroom.

She pushed the door open, knowing well that what lay beyond was hell itself.

Theo's body lay on the floor, grotesquely mutilated. Written in his blood on the wall were the words, "The first prey of the hunter. Beware, for he will spread his net to exact revenge."

Luna screamed for the first time in her life and broke down, crying hysterically. "I'm sorry, Theo. I'm so sorry."

She felt lost, shattered. The world around her was cold, terrifying, and utterly silent.

She sat quietly beside the corpse, feeling like a small child lost from her parents. She hugged her knees to her chest, trembling, tears falling silently.

Hermione arrived to check on Luna and Theo, to inform them of what had happened. She rushed in, horrified at the sight. Theo lay in his blood, and Luna was on the floor crying silently, covered in his blood. Hermione's eyes widened in shock. She put her hand over her face, trying to process the catastrophe that had just unfolded. They had lost two friends in the same day. She couldn't muster much of a reaction; she felt something inside her had died years ago when it came to tragedies.