Archive of Our Own ^beta

"The more that you say, the less I know. Wherever you stray, I follow."

Stepping back into Chelmsford, Harry looks around. It feels weird being back here after so many years.

The town looks different. while hints of how it used to look still lingers, it's also been upgraded to look more modern. More with the times.

Still, Harry can't help but feel unease as he walks along the same cobbled stones he once walked centuries ago.

The feeling comes back to him, the unnerving need of walking along to his house to find it trashed, hiding in the hills only to be found and turned in. The feeling and the smell.

Harry still doesn't feel like he can get that smell out of his nose.

He doesn't know what it is, some kind of magic luring him back here. Luring him along the streets. It's not his magic. He'd never planned to come back here.

Theres a magnetic pull, leading him towards the cells where he was kept before he had been taken to where he burned. He tries to fight it, but both curiosity and whatever spell he's under stops him. The spell winning over his curiosity.

As it turns out, the cells had now been turned into a pub. As he steps inside, he looks around, curious as to why he's there.

He spots Louis sat at the far back, and he tilts his head. He hadn't tried to find him, not yet anyway.

Hadn't planned to until he figured out these feelings. Seeing Louis last time almost dying, he had realised the resentment was far back, replaced with what felt like love.

Harry walks over, taking a seat opposite him. Louis raises his eyebrow.

"Last place I'd have expected to see you," Louis says, a somber tone to his voice.

"I didnt seem to have a choice." Harry furrows his eyebrows. "Why are you here?"

"It was like something was drawing me back here, I can't explain it." Louis rubs his face. "It's changed a lot since we were here last."

"Well. Last time I was in Chelmsford was that time I came back to find you. I never stepped foot near here." Harry looks around. "It seems like we were brought here for something. But what?"

"I don't know. But I've booked a room here so I don't have to drive back home," Louis says. "You could… stay with me, if you want?" He rubs the back of his neck.

"Sure." Harry feels the pull again. "Do you feel that?"

"I do." They both look towards the door. "Towards there."

"Downstairs." Harry swallows. "Shall we investigate tonight?"

"Sure." Louis offers him a tight smile.

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"Hey look at this," Louis says from where he was sat on the small single bed. Harry gets up from his own and he walks over to him, sitting next to him. "Someone's published a book. About you."

"About me?" Harry reaches over and grabs it. "Let me read."

The last witch of Chelmsford burned at nightfall. I know because I was the one who set him alight.

"Who's the author?" Harry swallows. He knows already, but as he scrolls to the top, it still makes him freeze. "Bradley Gould."

"Maybe it was him you should have haunted instead." Louis means it as a joke, but Harry still scoffs, shaking his head.

"I wasn't angry at him. I didn't know him. I was angry at you. I loved you and you betrayed me. And despite everything, I still love you." Harry hands the phone back to Louis. The room goes silence, Harry's words still lingering in the air. "I should go."

"Harry wait." Louis stands up but Harry rushes out of the door, he doesn't give him chance to say anything. Too scared of what he could say.

He doesn't leave the pub, instead he finds himself looking over his shoulder as he opens the door to the cellars. Sliding through, he makes his way down the dark, wooden staircase. There's a putrid smell in the air, it reminds him almost of how it had been back then.

Walking further in, he notices the small rooms haven't been changed all that much. Except now, instead of keeping witches they keep barrels of alcohol.

He steps foot into one of the cells, his body freezes. He sees a vision of himself sat on the floor, head in his hands. He watches as Louis walks in, watches as he confesses the reason why he left. He watches as he's dragged away.

He chokes back a sob.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The smarmy voice of Bradley Gould speaks up from behind him. "I see my luring spell worked."

"The witch hunter turns to witchcraft, I see," Harry says turning around. "You wrote a book about me."

"I was the hero of Chelmsford. I have places named after me, I am in the history books as the man who saved Chelmsford." Bradley walks forward. "It was a shame, you've always been pretty in every life."

"Have you been stalking me?" Harry raises his eyebrow. "How sad are you?"

"Is that not what you've been doing to Tomlinson? Making him pay for snitching on you?" Bradley chuckles. "Anyway. It's such a shame you'll meet the same fate. Surrounded by such flammable liquid mistakes are bound to happen."

He closes the door with a laugh and Harry grabs at the handle, he pulls it but it's locked.

"Let me out!" He shouts, banging on the door. He kicks at it, but nothing seems to work. He grabs his phone, only to find no derive. He calls for the fire department, remembering that number still works.

It doesn't take long before he hears the crackle of fires, the barrels in the cells exploding one by one. Harry coughs, covering his mouth as smoke starts seeping through the gaps. He kicks at the door, panic settling in.

"Harry?!" He hears Louis shouting. "Harry are you in here?!"

"Louis!" Harry shouts. "I'm in here, quick!"

He hears Louis coughing.

"I'm going to save you this time. I'm not going to let you die." Louis sounds determined. "I love you too much to do that to you again."

Harry watches the door. He doesn't answer. He just waits.

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The pub had burned down, Bradley Gould had been stuck inside. Louis won't admit it, but Harry's certain he had something to do with it.

"What you said, back at the pub," Louis says. "You didn't let me say anything before you run out. But I just wanted to say again that I'm sorry. And that I love you too."

"You kind of said that when you came to see me." Harry looks at Louis. They're standing amongst the rubble, he doesn't know why they had even come back there. "You know. I think this is where we stood when I told you I would find you in every lifetime."

"I think it was." Louis looks at him. "I don't know how you knew you'd come back."

"I knew." Harry shrugs. "But I never thought that seeing you in every lifetime, would make me fall so in love with you again."

"Maybe it's chance to do this right. Maybe now's our–my chance to put things right. If you'd let me?" Louis looks hopeful.

"Alright," Harry says. "We can try again."

"Can I kiss you?" Louis looks at him. Harry doesn't answer, instead he closes the gap between them.

"Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind."