Miss Pegasus' weird Oneshots

Turning Dark

It was a completely normal day in the small, sleepy village in the north of Scotland. No—this day wasn't completely normal. Just like the last few days hadn't been either. A village resident had died. Quite unexpectedly and suddenly. Solomon Sallow was already in his late fifties, but that's certainly not an age at which someone just dies. Was it because of his excess weight? Or had the years of stress as an Auror and the grief over his brother robbed him of some years of his life? Raising the twins probably hadn't left him unscathed either. The girl, Anne, was cursed at 14 and suffered agony every day, and no one could help her. This visibly broke Solomon's heart. And the boy? Sebastian was a good-for-nothing in Solomon's eyes; anyone who watched the two of them for a moment could see that. His nephew was constantly causing him trouble, and they argued frequently.

A few days ago, Anne suddenly appeared in Feldcroft with the lifeless body of her uncle. The other residents immediately rushed to her aid but could only assist with the burial. When asked what had happened, Anne simply shook her head and cried. The neighbours assumed she was simply too shocked by Solomon's death to speak. They had no idea that Anne remained silent out of love for her brother, the brother who had murdered her uncle.

The night after the funeral, Anne left Sallow Feldcroft. None of the neighbours noticed anything until the next day when the neighbour across the street knocked on the Sallows' door to give Anne some stew and to check on things. However, the neighbour assumed Anne had withdrawn into the house out of grief and simply didn't want to see anyone. So she placed the pot in front of the front door and said a few kind words to the empty house.

The boy was seen at the house a few days later. He seemed upset, which didn't particularly surprise the neighbours. After all, his uncle had died suddenly, and even though their relationship wasn't the best, he was still allowed to grieve. However, the neighbours were surprised he wasn't present at the funeral. They blamed it on school and the poor relationship between Sebastian and Solomon and dismissed it.

All except one. A neighbour found the whole thing extremely strange. He couldn't imagine Solomon Sallow suddenly dying of natural causes while travelling. After all, he had once been an Auror, and one has many enemies in that profession. Surely, the resentful wife of a criminal Solomon had arrested wanted revenge. Perhaps she had done it herself; maybe she had hired someone. But it wasn't possible to trace that. If someone had killed Solomon Sallow with the Killing Curse, the person would indeed have been caught by now. Or would they? No, the neighbour was sure of that. The Unforgivable Curses were traced. That couldn't be covered up. After a few days of careful consideration, the neighbour came to the conclusion that Solomon Sallow must have tragically died of natural causes. Probably a heart attack or something. A murder would have been front-page news in the Daily Prophet.

A few days later, the headline hit the small village shockingly.

Hogwarts student murders former Auror.

A few weeks ago, former Auror Solomon Sallow died suddenly and unexpectedly. It was initially assumed to be due to natural causes, as no Unforgivable Curse had been recorded, and Mr Sallow showed no evidence of a violent crime. However, his nephew, sixteen-year-old Sebastian Sallow, turned himself into the authorities and confessed to murdering his uncle during an argument. The student now faces a hearing and, with certainty, a life sentence in Azkaban. We will, of course, attend the hearing and report back to you in detail.

But why wasn't the Killing Curse recorded? When asked, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Harold Biggins, admitted: "We had never considered monitoring the magic of minors. It never occurred to us that a student would use an Unforgivable Curse. Rest assured that (...) will change immediately." Was the Ministry of Magic too naive? And what further consequences will follow? Should underage witches and wizards be monitored in general? Share your opinion with us via Owl.

Charlotte stared, stunned, at the lines she had already read five times. Sebastian's outburst was a tragedy, and the Daily Prophet shamelessly exploited it, serving it in small bites like a tabloid to its sensationalist readers. She dreaded the trial next Friday. Not only because she didn't want to speak to or see the reporters but also because she feared how she would react if she saw Sebastian again.

She had begged him not to turn himself in. They would have found a solution; if necessary, she would have run away with him. But the guilt had consumed Sebastian. He was a mere shadow of his former self, and when he went to visit Anne in Feldcroft, he never returned. Charlotte was almost overwhelmed with worry and finally decided to investigate. However, she only found a letter from Anne saying goodbye to Sebastian. Charlotte suspected this letter was the last straw, and Sebastian had turned himself in. The Daily Prophet's headline confirmed her suspicions a few days later.

The black-haired witch resolved to stand up for her friend in the wizarding court. She couldn't let him rot in Azkaban. She loved him. And she hadn't had the chance to tell him yet. Hell, they hadn't even kissed yet! She couldn't just give up on her love. She would do anything to protect him. Even if it meant tearing this damned prison and the Ministry of Magic to pieces to get him out if the trial didn't go in his favour. She would walk over dead bodies if necessary. Yes, she would break the law herself because she had a damned good teacher, and she wouldn't rest until she and Sebastian were reunited. She swore that to herself. She would never give up without a fight, no. That day, Charlotte began to make plans for every eventuality.