SOLIVAGANT ─ HP & GoT [ON HOLD]

☽ Prologue ☾

At the moment when Lord Voldemort's broken body collided with the ground, finally having the end that everyone had prayed for a long time - too long in fact -, Amalthea Potter felt nothing but immense sorrow. Sorrow for all the lost lives for that man, if he could be considered a man after all the atrocities he committed. Sorrow for her, sorrow for her family and friends, acquaintances, and all those who in one way or another suffered at the hand of the Dark Lord. Maybe even sorrow for him. Voldemort never found the peace and love that everyone deserved at least once in their lives, and for that... everyone had to suffer with him.

"It's done..."  Whispered the voices of all the dead, causing a shiver that started at the back of her neck and that went down her spine. The voice of her parents, Sirius, Remus, and Fred were among them. Amalthea knew since the Elder Wand flew into her hand, between the two powerful spells she and Voldemort had cast in the final act, what she had become...

Mistress of Death. Thea was now the Mistress of Death... She! She who just wanted a life of peace and normality.

The silence that followed Voldemort's fall did not last long - or perhaps it did, at least for her it seemed to last an eternity. All of her was numb, her body frozen and her mind empty. Screams of joy, crying, groans of relief, hugs, and kisses have been around her since the Dark Lord was defeated. Amalthea had no one to hug.

Well, she did. She had Neville, Luna, and Hagrid. Hermione was still there, and so was Ron and the rest of the Weasleys - except Fred... Fred who would never smile again when they both kissed passionately, Fred who would never whisper her name like a prayer as if he couldn't believe she was real and that she was his. She could never hug and kiss him again. She could never love him in this life. He was there, but at the same time, he wasn't. Not as she wished he were.

Amalthea's body was numb, sore, exhausted. She couldn't muster the strength to celebrate together with everyone else. How could she? As much as everyone tried, they would never understand.

"It's okay, go if you want to go." Fred's voice was as warm and loving as it had always been when addressed to her. She could feel the soft, icy touch of his caress on her face, she could see the ghostly sad smile he gave her when she tried hard not to cry.

Taking a last look at Voldemort's corpse, still unable to believe that it was finally over, Thea turned on her heels and with a soft pop! she disappeared, her friends' screams and laughter still ringing in her ears.

The first thing she did when she reached Grimmauld Place was to call for Kreacher, the grumbling old house-elf who seemed overjoyed to find his lady alive and well. A wide smile was on his wrinkled skin when he realized that he had not lost another master. The copy of Slytherin's locket that he wore around his neck swung when he was quick to offer Thea a hot bath.

The beautiful young woman didn't take long to enter the hot, fragrant water of the black marble bathtub and let herself relax for a few minutes.

Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing was racing, even though she tried to control herself. Finally, when she was sure that no one would bother her, she released the sobs that wanted to plague her body. Hot tears flowed down her face, her eyes becoming swollen and reddened but not less beautiful...