Hope's Curse
"What in Merlin's name are you doing skulking around the house?" Ominis teased as he stepped closer, arms outstretched in a welcoming embrace.
The sight of him made Theowen's eyes well with tears. She paused momentarily, confusion flashing across his face before she ran headfirst into his arms, hugging him tightly and pressing a passionate kiss to his lips. A happy tear escaped her eyes. Ominis, taken aback, reciprocated the embrace, his hands resting on her back with a gentle warmth. It felt like an eternity since she had tasted his kiss, felt the warmth of his lips.
But the sudden realization that her mentor was in the other room, listening to everything, brought Theowen back to reality. The thought of her teacher overhearing her intimate moment with Ominis was mortifying. She broke the kiss abruptly, leaving Ominis breathless, his hair even more tousled than before, his cheeks and lips flushed with a slight rosy hue.
He quickly regained his composure and chuckled, caressing her cheek lovingly. "It seems someone missed me terribly."
Theowen sighed, a slight sniffle escaping her as Ominis's teasing turned to worry. His fingers traced the wet lines of fresh tears on her cheeks. "What is the matter? Did something happen?"
Theowen laughed, finding his concern bittersweet. She quickly wiped the tears away. "Oh, this? A trifling ailment, dear."
Ominis cocked a brow. "Darling, it’s September. The only ailment you’ll suffer from is the chill in the air."
"The dust," Theowen quickly explained, not wanting to alert him further. "I was feeling rather under the weather and popped by for a quick anti-allergy potion."
"They don't have those in France?" Ominis prodded, still suspicious.
Theowen internally kicked herself for not coming up with a better lie. She could feel her mentor stifling laughter around the corner. "They do," Theowen started, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Maybe it was just an excuse to see your beauty."
Her husband snorted at her response. "My beauty? My face is just that charming to enchant you from across the sea?"
"Very much so," she whispered, her fingers tracing his handsome features. At least that bit wasn't a lie; her husband's beauty was comparable to Adonis himself or even more so. Ominis smiled to her caresses as she traced every mole on his cheeks, enjoying the attention his wife was giving him.
The moment was abruptly ruined when she saw a sliver of light reflecting from the window across from her. She frowned, knowing that her time was almost up. "You know I love you, infinitely. Right?"
Ominis's confusion deepened. "Of course, more than anything. Theowen, I have a sinking feeling that there's something you're not telling me."
She smiled lovingly, guiding his hands to her lips to ensure he felt her expression. Always perceptive, nothing escaped his intuition. "It's nothing serious, darling. Just thinking about what to do for our upcoming anniversary, that's all."
His brows were still knotted, but he sighed and relaxed into her touch. "I know you'll be extremely fatigued by then. Though I know you're hiding something from me, I'll drop the matter for now. You will tell me when the time comes, yes?"
"Always," she promised, fighting to keep her voice steady. She rested her head on his shoulder, squeezing him tightly. With a sharp intake of breath, she pulled away, the cold reality setting in.
Barely a whisper, she muttered sadly, "I have to go."
"Back to Normandy?" he questioned, his fingers still laced with hers.
"Yes," her voice was low, barely holding back the pain, "I'll be back soon," she whispered, caressing his cheek one last time.
Ominis gripped her hand lovingly, smiling. "I'll be here, waiting."
She took a deep breath. "Don't see me out, dear. Or else I won't be able to do my job."
He chuckled. "That irresistible, am I?"
"Very much so," she replied before leaning in for one last, long kiss.
Ominis smiled and whispered, "I love you," before walking towards the stairs to their bedroom.
"I love you too," she whispered back, unable to watch him leave, afraid she wouldn't be able to let go. Hot tears cascaded down her face. She gripped her mouth to stifle a cry, feeling Hecat's warm, comforting hands patting her back.
"I know, dear. I know," Hecat soothed quietly, holding the artifact at the ready. Hecat took Theowen's hand, tightening her grip to assure she wouldn't run. As she spun the dial, Theowen looked back towards the stairs.
The room around them began to blur and twist as Hecat turned the dial of the Time-Turner. The world seemed to tilt, and the familiar sensation of being yanked through time enveloped Theowen. Colours and shapes stretched and compressed, their surroundings warping into a whirlwind of light and shadow.
Theowen's heart raced as the past faded away, replaced by a dizzying swirl of time's fabric unspooling and rewinding. Snatches of sounds echoed around them—voices, laughter, the rustle of leaves, and the distant hum of life—each fragment a fleeting moment from days gone by. She clutched Hecat's hand tightly, her knuckles white with the effort, her eyes squeezed shut against the overwhelming sensory assault.
Time seemed to rush past them, the vortex spinning faster and faster. Images of their home in Marylebone, fleeting glances of Ominis, and snippets of conversations whirled around them in a chaotic dance. It felt as if they were caught in a tempest, with the very essence of time pulling them back to the present.
Gradually, the tumultuous motion slowed, and the swirling colours and sounds began to settle. The spinning vortex of time ebbed away, and Theowen felt solid ground beneath her feet once more. She opened her eyes to find herself back in the dining room, the familiar surroundings of her home slowly coming into focus.
The world steadied around them, and the cacophony of the past faded into a soft, distant murmur. The dining room was as they had left it, with only the faintest shimmer in the air to mark the passage of their journey.
Hecat, her face calm but her eyes betraying a trace of exhaustion, gave Theowen's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We're back, my dear," she said gently, her voice grounding Theowen in the present.
Theowen pulled her hand away from Hecat abruptly, a surge of desperation propelling her forward. She rushed towards the stairs in a flurry, her heart pounding with a mix of hope and dread. As she ascended, the familiar creak of each step seemed to echo with memories, each one a haunting reminder of what she had lost.
She burst into the bedroom she and her husband once shared, banging the door open. Her eyes frantically scanned the room, but what she had expected, yet not hoped for, was painfully true: it was empty. The room was cold, devoid of the warmth that Ominis’s presence had once filled. The silence was deafening, a stark contrast to the vivid memories of shared laughter and whispered conversations.
Theowen’s gaze fell upon his clothes, meticulously laid out on his side of the bed, as if waiting for him to return. The sight shattered her remaining composure. The reality of his absence hit her with the force of a tidal wave, and her knees buckled beneath her. She collapsed onto the cold, hard wooden floor, her body wracked with uncontrollable sobs.
Wailing at the loss that she could never get back, her cries filled the emptiness of the room. Each sob was a raw, anguished outpouring of grief, a desperate plea for a reality that could never be altered. The room, once a sanctuary of love and comfort, now felt like a hollow shell, echoing with the ghost of what once was.
She clutched at the floor, her fingers scraping against the wood as if trying to find something to hold onto, something to anchor her in this unbearable pain. The scent of his clothes lingered faintly in the air, a cruel reminder of his absence, and she pressed her face into them, seeking solace in the lingering traces of his presence.
But it wasn’t enough. It could never be enough. The ache in her chest grew with every breath, a relentless, gnawing pain that threatened to consume her entirely. Her sobs grew quieter, the initial wave of grief giving way to a numb, hollow emptiness. The warmth that had once permeated her home was now but a distant dream, a memory she could never reclaim.
As Theowen lay there, her body trembling with sorrow, she felt Hecat's presence behind her, a silent witness to her anguish. The former professor stood quietly, allowing Theowen the space to grieve, her own heart heavy with the knowledge of the profound loss her student was enduring.
"Please, I beg you to reconsider," Hecat pleaded, her voice quivering with urgency, as Theowen hurriedly stuffed her belongings into her enchanted luggage. "You are currently distraught, my dear. You are going to regret this decision. This, I swear it."
Theowen’s hands moved frantically, shoving clothes and essentials into the bag without care for order. Her breath came in quick, shallow gasps, her movements a blur of desperation and determination. With her mentor's last words, she finally paused, looking back with a strained smile. "My thoughts have never been clearer. I... I just have to try," she said, her voice trembling as her hands gripped her brush with a deathly tightness.
Hecat’s eyes widened with panic, her hands reaching out as if to physically stop Theowen from leaving. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, child! You have no prior experience with Time magic. Going into this blind is foolhardy!" she exclaimed, her face etched with deep lines of worry and desperation.
She believed her plan would work; she just needed to delve deeper into time research without breaking into the Ministry. Amidst the turbulent aftermath of seeing Ominis for what felt like the last time, Theowen had a revelation. She noticed that after using the Time-Turner, Hecat was visibly exhausted and in dire need of rest. Piecing together the clues, Theowen deduced that Hecat's work as an Unspeakable must have involved time research. It was the only explanation for why such a priceless artifact was gifted to her, alongside the curse that accelerated her aging.
Hecat’s desperation grew, her voice rising in intensity as she saw Theowen’s resolve harden. "Are you speaking from experience, professor?" Theowen questioned indignantly, her words striking Hecat like a physical blow, leaving her momentarily breathless in shock.
After a moment, the former Unspeakable sighed in defeat. "Yes," she confirmed, looking up with weary eyes. "Which is why I am suffering from this affliction," she said, pointing to her aged hands, now gnarled and frail. "This is your future if you decide to walk down this path, and I promise you that it will not bring him back."
Theowen paused, the weight of Hecat’s words sinking in. She knew the reason Hecat was so adamant in denying her this endeavour was because she had no idea of the amount of power she was capable of wielding—a different kind of magic, more powerful and ancient than even the Ministry’s Unspeakables had no access to. But could she trust her mentor to keep this secret guarded to her grave?
"Dinah, there's... something you should know," Theowen started, her voice steadying as she looked at her teacher, eyes filled with determination. Hecat’s expression turned from confusion to cautious curiosity. "There was a reason why Ranrok was digging tunnels underneath Hogwarts."
Hecat’s eyes widened slightly, the tension in the room thickening as the implications of Theowen’s words began to dawn on her. The former Unspeakable held her breath, allowing her pupil to continue, "I don't know the specificities on what they told you, but underneath the castle there was a place of power that we Keepers called the Repository."
"Keepers... Repository? What on earth are you on about, child?" Hecat questioned, looking visibly more distraught and confused than ever.
"It's a long story," Theowen cut short, feeling the urgency of her mission pressing down on her—time was not on her side. "But the point I'm saying is that I am able to wield ancient magic, which more is stored inside the Repository."
Hecat's face paled as the gravity of Theowen's words sank in. The lines on her face seemed to deepen, a reflection of the tumultuous emotions roiling within her. Theowen could see the conflict in her mentor's eyes—a mixture of fear, concern, and a flicker of understanding.
"Theowen," Hecat began, her voice trembling slightly, "ancient magic is perilous. It's not something to be wielded lightly. The consequences—"
"I know the risks," Theowen interrupted, her tone resolute. "But I have to do this. I have to try."
"I do not know the depth of this power that you claim you are able to wield, but if you do this, how do you plan to return here with him? Bringing someone from the past to the present—especially the further you go—for Merlin's sake! You both will age rapidly or even suffer from death! If you even manage to bring him back here, you will die!" Hecat explained breathlessly, laying out all the possibilities before her, trying to make her understand that what Theowen was about to do was redundant.
"That's where your deductions are wrong, Professor. I'm not planning on coming back," Theowen explained, her back turned to her mentor.
"You've gone mad!" the former Unspeakable shouted, finally unable to control her anger. "It is utterly impossible to stay permanently in the past! There have been records of people getting trapped, but they always get pulled back to the present!"
"I will find a way, Dinah. No matter the cost," Theowen said with finality as she closed her trunk. "Either you stop me by ending my life here and now, or you let me go."
Hecat's eyes widened in shock before finally relenting. "Very well. It was worth trying."
"It was," Theowen smiled. "But you knew it wouldn't work."
"Stubborn as ever," Hecat chuckled, reminiscing about teaching the young, rebellious student the essence of duelling. She looked up at her pupil, her aged eyes softening. "You've grown into a fine woman, Theowen. It's a shame this will be the last time I see you."
Theowen shook her head. "It won't be, Professor. We'll see each other again; you just won't remember this."
"You should get used to calling me Dinah by now," the former mentor chuckled at her own wit before taking out her wand and summoning an aged leatherbound notebook stuffed haphazardly with papers. She handed it to Theowen, who took it with visible confusion. "What's this?"
"All my work and research from my time as an Unspeakable," Hecat explained, earning a gasp from Theowen. "I know how it feels to desperately want to bring someone back by cheating through the passage of time. I wasn't successful. I hope you will be."
Theowen clutched the book dearly before safely storing it away in her luggage. She wore her coat and picked up her bags. With one last look at her former mentor, she said, "Thank you for everything."
Hecat could only offer a supportive smile, knowing she was sending her to her death. Theowen took a deep breath to prepare herself before apparating away.