A Deal Worth A Lifetime [ Alastor x Reader ]

Chapter 17: Home Sweet Home

Air turning cold you felt it nip at your skin, the only noise being the low hum of radio static. Peeking your eyes open and watching as fog covered the ground, swirling around tall grey trees that extended to a seemingly endless sky. Leaving his side and reaching out to touch a tree, he stopped you from doing so.

"I wouldn't if I were you." His voice echoing for what seemed like forever before fading away.

He started on his way and you hesitated, staring at that tree for a bit longer than necessary before joining him. Walking alongside him in this eerie place. You couldn't tell if the trees were moving or if it was just you. Squinting at the distance to your left and watching closely as two crashed into each other. Not far away from where two clashed the sound of splitting wood before one fell and disappeared in the fog. Nothing left but a stump.

No matter how hard you tried, you couldn't shake a feeling of familiarity. Not a good feeling either, if Alastor wasn't with you right now you feared what could be out there. The farther you travelled, the darker the trees got and the thinner the forest became. It was freezing now and you couldn't help but hold on tighter to his arm. When had you linked your arm with his?

"We're almost there." It felt as if you had been walking forever. Your breath now visible as you looked around. Even the fog had turned dark, almost shadow-like in nature. Feeling him stop allowing the fog to surround the two of you. After it dispersed you couldn't see, a hand obstructing your view.

"Al?"

"Its a surprise, move a tad bit this way," one hand on your waist to guide you, while his other covered your eyes, "perfect." Moving his hand in one swift motion revealed what he had hidden from you. An exact replica of your home stood in front of you. At first, you couldn't believe it, taking a step back.

"Is it..." trailing off you approached the structure, giving one of the columns for the portico a big smack. It wasn't an illusion at least. Hand starting to glow white you pressed it against the same column, there were no spells, no traces of blood magic, nothing that told you it was fake.

"Do you like it?" He was joking, right?

"I love it!" Pulling him down for a hug, he had to take a step forward to avoid stumbling. Then leaving his side as quickly as you got to it, pushing the front door open and stepping inside.

Everything looked the same. The large chandelier still hanging in the centre of the foyer, the staircase to the second-floor splitting to either side once meeting the wall. You run a hand along the wall before stopping at the entrance of the living room, the same rug your mother just had to have while she was on vacation in Persia. It came as no surprise when seeing all of your father's taxidermy on the wall, along with Alastor's additions. Family photos still atop the mantle and though you don't ever remember putting it there, your wedding picture had been placed dead centre. Noting the bookshelf had expanded, your father's old reading chair gone, replaced by a new one with a small end table beside it.

The living room merged with what your mother always considered as a sized down ballroom, compared to the one at the hotel. From here you could exit to the backyard, instead, you passed through the room without much thought and went for the dining room.