Chapter Text
“Bonjour, Madam.”
Aurora could only offer a small nod with a forced smile in response for words had entirely escaped her. She felt as if she were a deer caught under torchlight, frozen in one position, attempting not to taunt the lion of whom was currently looking on with hungry eyes. The French acolyte, adorning a simplistic dark cotton overcoat with the hem of her teal blue dress swaying softly in the breeze, wore a sickening grin at the girl’s obvious discomfort. Satisfaction lay sparkling within those sharp blue eyes.
Taking a momentary glance at her surroundings, there were only two directions out of this corner-street – back the way she came, or straight into the maws of the enemy. But as the options weighed themselves out in her mind, both doors of opportunity were quickly snuffed. Vinda Rosier apparated to stand before the doorway behind, her wicked smile remaining, and the newest electoral candidate moved to the centre of the aisle; hands folded before him. A dare, if she’d ever seen one.
“Aurora, dear,” He lowered himself down from the stairwell, standing only metres away. “How lovely of you to make an appearance on this truly historic day.”
“Grindelwald,” she greeted, eyes slightly downcast, breath escaping in short puffs through her nose. “I assumed you would be at the ceremony already,”
“I should be,” he informed, arms motioning to his surroundings, nodding briefly to his right-hand woman. “And yet, here we are.”
The leather briefcase was pulled closer to the youngest Scamander’s side, her head tilting somewhat to listen out for any advances made by his accomplice from behind, her eyes never straying from his. The smile gracing his lips was not one to ease her nerves, but to express humour in her failed attempt at remaining unaffected. She was exactly where he wanted her to be, and he enjoyed the fact she had accepted this, however discreetly.
“I have one last subject matter to attend, with which I had hoped you would assist me,” when she did not speak, the wizard continued. “I gather you have chosen your side?”
Though the young lady retreated a submissive step again, she raised her chin at his rhetorical question and held his expectant stare defiantly. She would not participate in these games – not when one wrong move could prove detrimental for the future of the wizarding world. Even so, her lack of verbal response provided all that he needed to know, along with the slight tremble as his eyes darkened in acknowledgement.
Grindelwald cleared his throat. “Then you understand that – by extension – if not with me, you are against me,” His brows rose as he reached a hand forward, palm open. “The case, now, if you will,”
When Aurora’s head shook softly back and forth, the man before her began to tut tauntingly, one pointed finger waggling in her direction. “Are you really willing to risk so much for him?”
“It is for all of them,” she countered in a hushed tone, a slither of cold running through her as his sickeningly sweet smile fell.
“Would any of them still recognise you if your very being was permanently altered to that of which you transformed most often, or would you be disregarded, hunted by the muggle-kind you try so hard to protect?”
The open threat constricted the air surrounding the three magic-users, turning it thick and heavy. A cautionary warning of what could be, and what will be, sent alarm bells blaring in the girl’s head, thoughts scrambling with ideas as to how she could avoid the only ultimatum offered without losing her free will in the meantime. Until now, she’d forgotten Albus’ warning of not straying from their designated paths – how she wished for a second opportunity to choose differently. Hindsight really is a bitch.
“That is a shame,” Breaking her silence, Grindelwald feigned a sigh of disappointment, looking up to the sky for effect.
Glaring back to the youngest Scamander, his hand raised slowly – the Elder wand clasped leniently within his grip – and jerked it in her direction, expression never altering.
Initially, nothing seemed to change. That was until precious seconds had passed and the pain grew; starting at the heel of her palm but raiding quickly through every finger and deep into her wrist. Looking down, the aluminium handle clutched tightly in her grasp flared a vibrant red colour, the heat burning Aurora’s skin until the torment became too much and the briefcase was released, toppling indelicately to the ground. Despite blistered skin, she made a last-ditch attempt to protect the contents of the bag until the necklace that had been lain loosely around her neck tightened against her throat, forcing her to the floor.
Aurora’s hands scratched and scraped at the noose, fingernails cutting deep marks into the flesh as she gasped for breath, forced to watch whilst Vinda retrieved the case with that wicked sneer. Eyes closing in desperation, they sprung back open to reveal Grindelwald kneeling alongside as one of her arms was brought under the solid weight of his shoe, the other restrained in his larger palm against her chest, pushing her shoulders back into the paving slabs. His wand was held in the other hand, only an inch from her face as his lips grew to a smirk at her struggles.
“I told you once that you would beg me for forgiveness,” he reminded, dropping his head to whisper derisively in her ear whilst she was held still. “So, beg.”
Clamping her eyes shut again, jaw clenching in distress, she fought her restraints for just a sliver of oxygen but this only satisfied his need for anguish as he watched on in amusement. Dumbledore had chosen an excellent ally for his army, indeed, but it was a shame that her capabilities were being hidden behind inferior wand-magic. Aurora could have been so much more had she have chosen differently, although perhaps that was all Albus would ever need her for. Hair falling from its tidy slicked-back position, he shook his head at her brawl, watching as a tear rolled from the corner of her eye, tracking down the side of her face and onto the concrete below.
“You are valuable. I would hate to waste a life such as yours,” Leaning down to her ear one more time, he cast a final warning in his venomous tongue. “Behave yourself and stay down, or I will take the light from your eyes and make them watch,”
He placed a single, chaste kiss upon the drying tear tracks and leant back to study the girl closely as her attention grew unfocused and those bright hazel eyes rolled back into her skull. Oxygen levels depleted, muscles losing all strength only moments later, Aurora’s consciousness faded as her body was left limp in the unfrequented street for any wandering passersby to discover.
With the briefcase now in the hands of the enemy, and the youngest Scamander sibling lying motionless on the ground, the small, golden ball rolled from within the girl’s coat pocket, clinking delicately against the cobblestones below. Free from the constraints of cotton, the wings spread eagerly and fluttered the item into the air, picking up speed and zipping off in search of its owner.
As the two brothers continued to rush in harmony with the crowd, the arrival of the snitch broke their stride as it flitted erratically before them.
“Where did that come from?” Aberforth asked, voice gruff with scepticism.
“Aurora,” Albus replied, snatching the item from the air, glancing quickly toward their surroundings in the hopes she would miraculously appear. “I told her to let it fly if there was trouble,”
“I’ll go back for her,”
“No,” he turned to his younger brother then, placing his hands on both shoulders. “Find Credence, he needs you. I will find Aurora.”
With that, Albus apparated to the last location the girl had been spotted, whispering a locator spell to the snitch and allowing it to buzz wilfully ahead. As it flew erratically, searching for the recipient of the spell, the hoots and hollers of candidate supporters started fading as most had already made their way to the bridge. After several diversions to avoid unwarranted attention, marching quickly to keep up with the snitch, the echo of coughing and spluttering pierced his senses like a candle in the night.
Grasping the winged ball out from the sky once more, Albus rounded the corner to find the brunette on her hands and knees, choking and gasping for breath, body shaking with every effort to reoxygenate. His legs picked up the pace, breaking into a hurried jog as he, too, fell to his knees on the cobblestones before her, gloved hands obtaining a strong hold on her arms in order to push her upper body back. Hazel eyes wide and split with broken blood vessels snapped to his in an instant; fear and pain etched so deep within. Grasping her chin tightly, he raised her head to observe the dark purple bruising with droplets of blood forming a ring around her throat, separated by red markings curated from her own fingernails.
The ease at which she had obeyed his demand to tilt her head, and did not fight him still – despite her discomfort – settled an uneasy feeling in Albus’ stomach; she had nearly broken this time. The silver chained necklace, now laying limp around her clavicle, caught his attention for the shiny metal was tainted with spots of crimson liquid, some links having been crushed so harshly they had mishappen. Ripping the jewellery from her neck in outrage his blue orbs trained back to her face – the girl was still frantic.
“Aurora,” he attempted to interrupt her hyperventilation, but nothing changed. “Aurora! Slowly, slow it down,”
This redirected her attention, momentarily stunning her out of a frenzy, as she realized exactly who was knelt before her. His thumbs instinctively smoothed over her cheeks in an attempt to soothe as tears started escaping from the corners of her red-rimmed eyes. Understanding suddenly dawned on her – she was still alive.
“Albus-” her words were cut off as a cough arose again, spluttering into her raw and blistered hand. “He took the case; I couldn’t stop him-”
Voice hoarse and gravelly, more tears continued to fall. Wiping a few away, his blue irises locked onto the blistered palm she had curled into her chest protectively. Removing his hands from the girl’s face, he wrapped one around her wrist to pull it closer for inspection, holding firm when she attempted to pull it from him almost instantly, face scrunched in pain. Without altering his expression, he patiently waited for her attempts to cease whilst removing one black leather glove with his teeth, revealing the warm hand beneath. Delicately running his fingertip over the broken skin, pain subsided as the blisters lightened into a new complexion of pink, marks fading to their normal colour.
A few minutes later, Albus helped Aurora to stand, holding one arm looped within his own to support her currently wavering stature. Once she had caught her bearings, the guilt of allowing the briefcase to be stolen from her started weighing heavy.
“He threatened to kill me if I didn’t stay down,” she started, holding onto his arm for reassurance, voice still rough. “Said he’d make you all watch. I am sorry, there was nothing else I could do to stop him,”
Interrupting her ramble, he shushed her softly. “It’s alright,” his arm retreated to look her in the eye. “But we really must go before the ceremony begins without us,”
Taking a final deep breath, she clasped his awaiting hand once more and the pair was apparated to the bridge crossing, Aurora bumping lightly into Aberforth’s side as their feet found solid ground – Albus having released his grip slightly too early. The youngest brother had been about to bark an insult at whomever had jostled him until his eyes met broken hazel orbs, laced with unnerve. Firing a horrified look to his brother, all that was received in response was a perturbed expression, worry crinkling the corners of his eyes, and a shake of his head - ‘don’t ask’.