Pure As We Begin

They had been given a moment, a pause between labored breaths and futile curses, a time to gather their dead and prepare for the final battle. Families wept and children mourned, losing both parents and siblings alike. But when the war was over and the Order declared itself triumphant, who saw to it that she was given her proper respects?

The answer was no one. No one came to wrap her body in cloth and carry her home. Not a word was spoken as her remains were flung over the parapet, piece by piece, where she would begin to decay with the slow passage of time. They bid her farewell, never knowing who she was, never thinking that she was something more to someone else.

The only one who ever cared for her, who remained hidden all this time, was seen by no one as he began his search. When he came, he passed like smoke, drifting between the stars and gliding along the water's edge. He had learned the secret to survival through observation, first with Gellert Grindelwald as he preached to the masses, then with Tom Riddle as he shared the secrets of the serpent's venom, how it could be used to sustain someone when they were near death. But that was not the reason why he sought her out. Not after all they'd been through.

Slowly, he began his descent, his features wreathed in tendrils of living shadow. It wasn't until the darkness receded that a figure began to emerge, his feet touching down amid the ruins of the castle.

"Nagini, where are you?"

He paused, the chill of the night air upon his face, looking out amongst the crumbling forms and collapsing walls. The earth shifted under his weight as he began to move. Each step brought him closer to his past, to the years he'd spent in question, wondering who he was and where he came from. Then came the memories of who she'd been, her laughter present even now, warming the desolation with the melodious sound of her voice.

She did not hiss or rasp, not unless she chose to. She did not slither along the ground, not unless she felt like it. Her skin, so pale against the sapphire blue of her dress, was smooth and warm, her eyes gazing fondly at him, a smile playing across her lips. She was every bit an angel as she was beautiful, walking upright through the crowd, head held high, never cringing or shying away from the others.

"Oh Nagini, where are you?"

Moisture pooled in the corners of his eyes. Fingers, numb from the cold, turned over stones, searching. When no one else cared to look, Credence was there. When no one else remembered, he dreamt of her. She had given so much in the time they were together. He couldn't leave her here. She deserved better than this.

Another stone overturned, releasing the fetid stench of death from the area in which she'd fallen. It arose like a noxious cloud, assaulting his senses and causing him to stumble backwards.

His breath caught in a sound too harsh to be a cry of outrage, a dark force pulsing beneath his ribs as a rush of fury consumed his every thought. This tormented cry gave way to an anguished howl, his fists striking the earth as he fell to his knees beside her. It would be a moment before the smell of her rotting corpse seeped into his lungs, his wretched sobs breaking as he nearly choked, leaning sideways and vomiting onto the parched earth.

It was here that he collapsed, vomit trickling down the side of his face, his arms around his chest, gasping and trembling. He lay on his side, her voice a faded echo in his mind, unable to move from her final resting place.

"No," he whispered, the endless winds ruffling the hair on his scalp. "This is not the end." Looking over at her, he placed the palm of his hand against the earth, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and inhaling a deep, shuddering breath. "It will be alright, Nagini. I promise. I swear it."