fade into you || d.m

the unbreakable vow

A song for the chapter: Me and the Devil - Soap&Skin

April 29th 1997

There were a dozen scrunched-up papers on the floor, and all of them were stained with Elwia's tears. Writing a speech for your mother's funeral was not an easy thing to do as a 16-year-old.

Elwia had never attended a funeral before, and now, her first one would be in the front row.

Nothing and no one could ever prepare you for the feeling of losing a parent. The grief is unexplainable, and one couldn't imagine how it feels until they feel it themselves.

Not enough people speak about the weird feeling of having to write about your loved one in the past tense. It's not "My mother is brave and kind" anymore—suddenly, it has turned into "My mother was brave and kind."

Although death is a natural part of life, the one and only thing that all people would without a doubt face someday, it sure was scary. Everyone knows death and that it will come one day or another. Yet we truly don't know a single thing about it, and when we do, it's too late.

Elwia was afraid of death, especially since she knew it was coming for her soon. It was frightening because she didn't know what to expect.

Does it hurt, or is it simply quicker than falling asleep?

Well, it was a matter of one year and three days until Elwia would find out.

There was harsh banging on the door, and Elwia knew it wasn't Pansy, Astoria or Draco; thus, she had no interest in interacting with whoever it was behind her door.

"Get out! Come back another time!" Elwia shouted and dried her tears, crumpling yet another paper into a ball and throwing it on the floor.

"Open this door or I'll break in!" Mattheo's voice called out from the outside.

Elwia groaned loudly and stomped her way to the door and opened it aggressively.

"What the bloody hell do you want, Riddle?" Elwia snapped and squinted her eyes, which were completely bloodshot.

"Blimey, you look like shit. Anyway, I need to talk to you now." Mattheo stepped inside the room, taking notice of the scrunched-up papers on the floor. "Writing a novel, are we?" He joked.

"No, a speech for my mum's funeral, actually, you git." Elwia rolled her eyes, picked up all the papers and threw them inside the trash can.

"Oh, my bad." Mattheo cleared his throat with a cough and rubbed his neck.

Elwia frowned and crossed her hands, tapping her foot against the floor. "I might ask you again, what do you want from me?"

"Was the comment about my date of death true, or did you say it just to get back at me? Did you have a vision, or were you being an arse?" Mattheo sighed loudly and ruffled his curly hair.

Elwia lowered her hands to her side and nodded her head. "It's true, I had a vision, and I saw you, pale and lifeless, lying on the stone floor."

Mattheo's expression faltered, a humane spark hiding somewhere in his brown eyes.

"Do you know where and how?" Mattheo straightened his posture, trying to appear braver than he actually was.

After all, he was still a boy. It didn't matter that he had turned 17 a month ago and that he was considered an adult now. Under his cruel and mysterious facade, there was still a young boy hiding, acting as something he yet wasn't.

Elwia shrugged her shoulders, closing her eyes, trying to picture her vision again.

"It looked like Hogwarts' hallways, but I'm not sure at all. I don't remember seeing any blood, which means it could be from the killing curse. Your eyes...they were still open." Elwia answered quietly.