If Only//Harry Potter [4]

21

Needless to say, Autumn was afraid. After once being at with the crowd at the maze from the third task, she was now in what looked to be an old cemetery. She was confused as well as scared. Did Matt do this to her? Why was she here, and where was she? She tried to move, but not only did she feel paralyzed, her body was tied to a statue.

"Oh, she's finally awake." 

Autumn looked in the direction of the voice to see Matt standing in front of her. His voice wasn't sweet and caring anymore — it was cold and cruel. His face matched his voice. Instead of the nice look that Matt always had on his face, he now looked bitter.

"Matt? What are you doing? Let me out of here." Autumn tried to move her body, but the rope bound her body closely to the stone.

"Can't let you do that, Autumn." Matt said. He held up a wand and moved it around slowly. It took Autumn a few moments to realize that was her wand.

"What are you doing with my wand? Give that back."

Matt laughed in response, making Autumn shiver.

"Matt, this isn't funny, give me my wand back."

"It's sorta funny if you think about it." Matt responded, leaving Autumn to widen her eyes slightly.

"Stop it, I have to get back to warn Harry!" Autumn struggled against the rope, trying to get it untied.

"Enough!" Matt yelled, making Autumn freeze. He was serious. This wasn't a prank, she was actually in trouble.

"Why are you doing this, Matt?" Autumn asked, trying to stall whatever Matt had in mind.

"This?" Matt asked, gesturing around her. "This has been in store for a year, ever since the World Cup fiasco."

"What? What's been in store?" Autumn looked around, trying to pinpoint a location on where she was.

Matt chuckled. "You're going to have to wait for him to tell you. I did my part."

"And what was your part?" Autumn felt tears come to her eyes, but she forced them away. She wouldn't show Matt any weakness.

"To earn your trust, to do whatever it took to get you to get you here." Matt tilted his head a bit as he looked at Autumn. "Even if it meant making you hate Cedric."

"What do you mean, 'hate Cedric'?" 

"I could tell that you liked that boy, even if he was two years older than you." 

"It was simple, actually. You were crying in the hallway, and I went along with it. I was nice. I was kind. All I had to do was bring you somewhere secluded."

"The cupboard," Autumn murmured, remembering the day.

"Everyday, I prayed myself with the potion to get you to tell me everything. Everyday. The potion made it so you tell me everything, even if you didn't want me to."

Autumn widened her eyes in realization, that's why she told Matt everything. It wasn't her judgement, it was because of him.  

She looked back at Matt and saw that he was inches away from her. Matt lightly touched the necklace the hung on Autumn's neck, making Autumn's breath hitch. "Oh, Autumn. What a tragedy you are." Matt turned around admiring the view of the graveyard.

"Then, the Yule Ball came around. We were friends, but I needed to be more. Hanging around me impaired your judgement about Cedric. When I gave you the necklace, it was hexed to make sure that even if I wasn't around, you would still hate Cedric. I made it so you'd like me more, and like Cedric less."

Autumn stared wide-eyed at the ground. She was so mean to Cedric, and that could've stopped if she had just taken the damn necklace off.

"The necklace was supposed to make you hate your friends as well, but, Ernest told me the only explanation is that you liked your friends too much for the spell to work."

"Who is Ernest?" Autumn dared to ask, trying to buy more time. But as soon as she asked it, she regretted it.

"Hi, darling." A tall man said as he walked out from the shadows.

Autumn kept her composure as she recognised the man. It was the same man who she'd seen at the World Cup, just before the Cruciatus Curse struck her.

"You. . ." Autumn said. "Who are you?"

"Autumn. . ." The man breathed. "I'm your dad."

"No, my dad's dead."

"I'm very alive and well, Autumn." Ernest walked in front of Autumn, but she turned her head away. Ernest slowly reached out to touch her face, then pulled it in front of him. "Look."

Autumn shook her head, trying to look away. She didn't want to believe it. "No. You're one of them. You're a Death Eater."

"And you can be one too. Just join me."

Autumn couldn't take it. She laughed. 

Ernest and Matt froze where they were and stared at the girl. 

Autumn kept laughing, until her stomach hurt. "Are you —" She had to take breaks from talking because she was laughing to hard. "Are you stupid? I fight alongside Harry Potter, one of the only people who would actually kill Voldemort, and you ask me — me — if I'd be a Death Eater?" Autumn laughed once more as she spoke. "C'mon, how thick do you have to be to ask that question?"

 "It's one thing to tell me that I'm your daughter, but then you ask me to join you? This is something straight out of Star Wars!" Autumn smiled as she remembered when the girls at the orphanage snuck into Ms. Dreace's room and watched all six episodes.

"THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER AND YOU WILL NOT LAUGH AT ME!" Ernest yelled, making Autumn freeze again. 

Autumn moved her body to get as comfortable as she could when she realized something: all of her laughing had made the rope loosen. She could escape. All she had to do was get her wand. . .

"So what do you say, dearest?" Ernest asked, placing his hand on her cheek. "Join your dad?"

Autumn stared at Ernest, faking a look of wonder. "You have something on your face."

Ernest took his hand from Autumn's face and to his, feeling around for something. "What is it?"

She raised her hand to punch Ernest in the face. "It was pain!"

He bent over in agony and she used that to her advantage — she quickly slipped herself out of the rope and she ran away.

"Get back here, little girl!" Matt yelled after her.

"We're the same age, you twit!" Autumn retorted as she ran about.

Out of breath, she hid behind a statue, knowing that Matt knew where she was. All she needed was her wand, and then she could do something.

Matt came up behind her, and she felt her wand touch her back. "Now, I think you would want to apologise to your father, wouldn't you, Autumn."

She smiled. "You talk too much." Autumn spun herself around, colliding her hand with his chest, making him double over in pain. She grabbed the wand from his hand and pointed it him. "I'd rather wear flowers in my hair than jewels around my neck." Autumn grasped the necklace from her body and ripped it off, crushing it with her foot as soon as it hit the ground. 

Autumn steadied her wand and clearly said a spell. "Stupify." 

Matt flew backwards and hit the ground, unconscious.