"Ní mhaireann solas na maidine don lá." // "No morning sun lasts all day."

It was late one afternoon at the Ministry, about a week after Tara had visited Newt last, when the quiet stillness that had long blanketed the organization up, was suddenly, startlingly, and rather violently broken.

Tara had been getting ready for a training session when she heard the thundering sound of several, frantic pairs of footsteps sprinting past her office door. 

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, she stood up from behind her desk and quickly made her way over to the door. Upon tugging it open, she found several Auror’s whizzing past her position. 

Blinking, she flagged down the first one that she knew by name.

“Chester-” she barked, causing the man to falter just outside her doorway. “What’s going on?”

The man looked back at her with a clear and present expression of worry.

“The recon team just got back,” he said, slightly out of breath. “It’s bad.”

Tara’s eyes widened as the Auror took off back down the hallway.

She hadn’t thought twice before following.

When she caught up with the rest of the Auror’s she found herself stumbling across an ever-growing crowd, converging in the main lobby of the Ministry. It was a flurry of chaos, dozens of bodies encircling the center fountain, murmuring nervously amongst each other.

Breathing heavily, Tara pushed her way through the horde until eventually emerging out past the front lines. Standing at the edge of the fountain, she found more faces that she recognized: the Auror’s of Theseus’ team that had gone on the mission to Germany.

Her heart dropped into her stomach.

There were only three of them. And they each had visible cuts and bruises littering their skin.

“What happened?” she demanded, her voice booming slightly above the rest.

By that point, several of the other directors had also made their way through the crowd, falling into formation on either side of her. 

The Auror standing directly in front of them, a man named Russell, took in a shaky breath before answering her question.

“When we got there, the house was completely empty. It looked abandoned.” he started to explain. “We spent a few days investigating the surrounding area, but every fact we collected kept pointing back to the house. So, we went back. And when we did…” his voice suddenly faltered. “It was an ambush…a trap. They knew we were coming somehow.”

“What did they want?” Travers asked from over Tara’s right shoulder.

Russell shook his head.

“They just threatened us. Said they would kill the entire Ministry if we kept pursuing Grindelwald.”

“Where’s the rest of your team? Where is Sca-”

“Where’s Theseus?” Tara interrupted with an uncharacteristic franticness.

The crowd around them fell deathly silent.

Russell swallowed with difficulty.

“Some of us got it worse,” he said. “Theseus was the first through the door. Was practically fighting them on his own…he’s the only reason I’m standing here now if I’m being honest.”

Tara felt her hands begin to tremble where they hung at her sides.

“Where are they?” Travers asked.

“We sent them to St. Mungo’s. They’re being treated right now.”

“Spielman. Kelly.” Travers barked, turning around and heading straight for the Floo Network.

Tara’s entire body felt numb as she sucked in a covert breath, following them after only a moment's hesitation, during which she and Russell had held worried eye contact.

Hospitals were terrifying.

Tara felt like her throat was closing up more and more as she walked down the halls. She had tried to chalk it up to the combination of strange smells and disembodied moans of pain that filled the air around them, but she knew deep down that it was because of what was waiting for them at the end of this unsettling promenade.

They had just finished visiting the other four members of the Auror team. Each was conscious, but horribly injured. The doctors told them, away from their bedsides, that they had never seen such a violent combination of curses before, especially used on other human beings. But they were expected to recover in full, given time of course.

Following a doctor through the halls, they made their way down to visit the last patient; the leader of the group itself, who they said had suffered the worst of the onslaught.

Tara had lost all feeling in her hands by that point and opted to shove them deep into her jacket pockets, in order to gain back what little warmth she could.

Finally, they stepped through the doorway of the room at the furthest end of the hospital wing. The head doctor dismissed the two nurses who had been floating about inside, and Tara’s eyes immediately fell upon the figure that was lying motionless on the bed in the back corner.

His eyes were closed. And there was a large, bandaged gash that ran down the side of his face. The area below his right eye was a dark, purple color and was also fairly swollen. His arms were resting out on top of the blankets, displaying the bandages that were crawling up nearly their full length.

It was clearly Theseus, but he was lying there with such a stillness that Tara’s body was racked with a fear-inducing sense of unfamiliarity. Her jaw clenched so tightly for a moment that she thought it might snap, all in order to keep her expression as stony as possible.

“He’s been unconscious since he was brought to us.” the doctor was explaining. “But we managed to patch up the worst of his injuries. They should heal, given time and care…I cannot imagine what he had gone through to procure such…” the wizard’s voice trailed off as he spoke, shaking his head dismissively after shooting a rather pointed look at the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. 

Travers didn’t entertain him with a reaction.

“How soon can we interview those who are awake?” he demanded instead.

The doctor sighed.

“You could begin now if you wish, but I would not advise-”

But before the man could even finish his sentence, the other two Directors were already in motion, storming out into the hallway and chattering amongst themselves about who first to speak to, and who else to bring in from the Ministry.

Tara, on the other hand, hadn’t moved to follow them. And from the looks of it, they didn’t notice her absence. 

The doctor, who was still standing in the room with her, let out a heavy sigh. He had briefly run his hand over his forehead before turning towards the door as well. Only to falter upon seeing that there was still one wizard left in the room.

“Oh. Is there something more I can help you with, ma’am?”

Tara tore her eyes away from Theseus, opening her mouth to answer, but found herself hesitating. She took a few, purposeful seconds to think about her words before inevitably speaking.

“I was wondering what your policies on visitation are.”

The doctor blinked in apparent surprise.

“I’m good friends with his younger brother, I’d like to bring him in if I could.” she added quickly, her tone only a tad bit rushed in nature.

“Ah.” the doctor replied, nodding his head. “Well, his wounds are going to continue to be treated by our staff for at least the next week. And I can’t give an exact timeline for when he’ll wake up, but I personally encourage visitors during a time like this. I imagine it would be best for him to see a familiar face i- when he comes to.”

The witch forced herself to nod.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” the doctor replied, bidding her a silent goodbye before finally leaving the room.

Now completely alone, Tara tilted her head back over to the hospital bed. And after reminding herself to breathe, she gingerly crossed the floor the rest of the way.

He was so…still.

Tara had lost a great many people in her lifetime. But in a strange turn of fate, she had never seen a single one of their bodies. She had never been cursed to witness them in the worst moments of their suffering and therefore had always been able to lean back on her more happy memories of them.

But now…now she was looking death straight in the face. She was watching as it reared its ugly teeth and claws, and she could feel its foul breath against her face.

Standing there in that blasted silence- it made her sick to her stomach. It made her want to scream, cry, and tear her hair out all at once. 

Reaching out with a shaking hand, she gently rested the back of her palm against Theseus’ forehead. It was cold, but covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Tara felt the sharp burn of tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Prick.” she whispered.

“Director Kelly?” a voice suddenly sounded from behind her.

Retracting her hand at the speed of light, the witch spun on her heels. Reappearing in the doorway, was Travers, eyeing her with a hint of suspicion.

“Yes, sir?”

“Report back to the Ministry in an hour.” he barked. “You will need to take over Mr. Scamander’s duties while he’s incapacitated.”

Tara hadn’t even been given the time to respond before he had already walked away.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* : ｡☆ﾟ.･ ───