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Tenebrae Et Lux Ch. 9 (Old Chapter Unlocked For All Patrons)
🕑 Added 2024-01-16 01:00:04 +0000 UTCContent Warnings: Teasing.
“Go away, Enid.”
Enid silently flopped on the grass next to her and reached out to take her hand.
“It wasn’t-”
“If you tell me it wasn’t my fault you will need a bed in St. Mungo’s too,” Wednesday said coldly. She yanked her hand free from her best friend’s hold before sighing softly. “It was my fault, Enid. I was right there and I couldn’t do anything. That woman played me like a fiddle,” she said quietly.
Her dark eyes stared at the stillness of the lake’s surface, its tranquility providing the perfect contrast to the battle raging within her. It was a cloudless night but even the beauty of the twinkling stars reflected on the calm dark waters of the lake did nothing to quench the raging fire of self-hatred within her.
“He’s alive because of you.”
Wednesday laughed tearfully and shook her head. “He’s alive because she wanted him to live. She’s not done torturing him yet.”
She had studied what had happened a thousand times in her head over the past two days, looking at it from every possible angle.
The lady, whoever she was, had them both dead to rights. She had let them live and Wednesday doubted she had done that because she had a sudden change of heart.
No. She was a cat, playing with her food before she devoured it whole.
“Does Harry have security around his room?”
“Why don’t you go and check?”
Wednesday turned and glared half-heartedly at her best friend.
“It’s better than sitting at the edge of this lake and beating yourself up,” Enid pointed out with a small smile.
“I’m not sitting here and beating myself up. I’m making a plan.”
“To do what?”
“Find that woman and carve her heart out.”
“Alright. You’ve had nearly three days. Let’s hear this plan,” Enid challenged with raised eyebrows.
The werewolf kept staring at her best friend, undeterred by Wednesday’s intensifying glare. Their bond ran much deeper than that of mere friends and she was more than used to having to break down Wednesday’s walls, to be there when she needed her best friend the most.
“What makes you think he’ll want to see me?” Wednesday asked, changing the topic.
“Maybe because he literally keeps asking to see you ever since he regained consciousness this morning?”
Wednesday tried and failed to swallow the lump in her throat.
“H-he… wants me there?” she croaked, her eyes widening.
Enid stared at her best friend with an expression that said, Yeah, dumbass.
“He nearly broke out of Mungo’s and wouldn’t let the Healers work on him until Hermione promised him you were fine,” Enid explained, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Hermione told him you’re recovering. That’s why you haven’t been able to come see him yet. It’s better than telling him the woman he loves is a coward.”
“I’m not a coward,” Wednesday snarled, the emotions she had kept suppressed ever since the attack bubbling to the surface.
“You’re not? How is this any different from what you did to Pugsley and me? Why must Harry fight to receive basic affection and attention from the woman he loves? I love you but there are days… there are days when I can’t help but hate you, Wednesday. If Hermione was on that bed I wouldn’t have left her side for even a second!”
The fight seeped out of Wednesday and her shoulders slumped. “You wouldn’t understand,” she said softly.
Enid, expecting and geared up for one of their legendary arguments, stared at her best friend in disbelief. She reached out and gently grabbed Wednesday’s hand, threading their fingers together. “I can try,” she whispered, scooting closer to Wednesday. She gently wrapped her arms around the girl and pulled her down into her chest.
“The ritual didn’t just show me who we’re up against,” Wednesday murmured. She closed her eyes and pressed her face into Enid’s sweater, relaxing for the first time in three days as she inhaled her best friend’s signature scent of vanilla and pine cones. Enid gently rubbed her back and Wednesday sighed, secretly glad that she was there to provide comfort and support.
“It activated my powers,” Wednesday murmured. “Showed me my future with Harry.”
“And that scared you?”
“No. No,” Wednesday shook her head and laughed tearfully. “It was… perfect. It was everything my parents have and so much more. But my powers didn’t just show me my future with Harry.” Wednesday paused and took a deep breath. “It forged a connection with him. I could feel him, in the back of my mind, this warm and fuzzy loving presence that promised me everything was going to be alright.”
“You can read minds?!”
“No.” Wednesday shook her head. “It’s… I can’t read his thoughts. At best, I can gauge his mood by sensing what he’s feeling. I had that for all of fifteen minutes before the attack and I was already addicted. I wanted a lifetime of it… I want a lifetime of it,” Wednesday admitted quietly.
“Of him being in your head.”
Wednesday nodded. “And after the attack… silence. He was gone. Nothing but oppressive silence for two full days,” Wednesday croaked, on the verge of tears again. “I nearly lost him. I felt him on the verge of death and I can’t… Enid, I can’t…”
“You won’t,” Enid whispered, her anger evaporating as she finally understood her best friend’s pain. To love someone with your entire being and to not only watch them on death’s door but to feel every second of it?
She wouldn’t have wished such a fate on her worst enemy.
“We are going to make sure Harry recovers completely and then we’re going to find that bint and carve her heart out,” the werewolf growled in an uncharacteristic display of anger.
Wednesday tilted her head up to look at Enid, an amused expression on her tear-streaked face. “Bint?”
Enid blushed. “Hermione’s been teaching me some local slang.”
“Thank the goddess she’s moved on from trying to teach you bedroom tricks,” Wednesday teased, smiling properly for the first time since the attack. “She better leave those lessons to Harry and me.”
“You’re not teaching us how to have carnal relations!” Enid said hotly, a deep blush on her cheeks.
“Why not?” Wednesday asked, biting her lip to stop herself from grinning.
Carnal relations.
They were so adorably naive.
“Do you really want your boyfriend to see another girl naked?”
“You don’t have to be naked for him to teach Hermione how to tie you up. Besides, you don’t count.”
“Why not? What, you think I’m not good enough to steal your man?”
Wednesday snorted and rolled her eyes. Enid’s ‘tough guy’ act had never improved over the years.
“Because I love you just as much as I love him, idiot,” Wednesday muttered.
If I’m baring my heart I might as well go the whole nine yards, she thought grumpily. As she watched a huge smile break out on Enid’s face she knew the werewolf would spend the rest of their lives teasing her about her admission.
I knew Potter would turn me into a fucking sap. Oh, well. I’ve come this far.
She leaned in and kissed Enid’s cheek before pulling away. “And because I want you and Hermione to have safe and satisfying… carnal relations.” She smirked and got to her feet. “Do you like her?” Wednesday questioned as she grabbed Enid’s hand and helped her stand.
Enid nodded shyly. “She makes me feel all warm and gooey inside.”
“Good. I’m happy for you, you know?” Wednesday admitted quietly as they walked along the lake’s shore. “Even if the woman you like has absolutely no idea how to fuck and was going to accidentally waterboard you.”
“She was not!”
“She had a cloth and a bucket of cold water, Enid. As much as I enjoy a good waterboarding, how about we start with something slightly simpler?” Wednesday teased, slowly slipping back to her old self. Harry’s faint presence in the back of her head combined with Enid’s usual peppiness was the perfect balm to her wounded soul. “Has she spanked you yet?”
“Uhm… we… I…”
“Yes or no, Enid, it’s a simple question.”
“Kinda?”
“How… Goddess, this I have to hear. How does someone ‘kinda’ spank you?”
“Well.” Enid paused to hop over an exposed tree root as they walked across the castle grounds. “She put me across her knees but when she tried to spank me I lost my balance, fell to the floor, and bruised my ass. So in a way, it counts?”
“No, it doesn’t. The floor did a better job of spanking you than your girlfriend.”
“Okay, fine, we could do with some tips,” Enid admitted grumpily. “Reading books and following instructions laid out in them like we’re in class ruins the mood if I’m being honest.”
Wednesday lapsed into silence as they approached the violently purple bus waiting for them by the large wrought iron doors of the castle.
She climbed aboard, only to be greeted by Stan Shunpike’s grinning face before she could ascend to the upper level.
“Where to?”
“St. Mungo’s. Two tickets. Keep the change,” Wednesday said, handing him two galleons. She and Enid had used the bus once before on their initial journey to Hogwarts and she knew exactly what she was dealing with. She was in no mood for the conductor’s antics.
“Swell! We also offer cocoa, a toothbrush, a pillow, and other world-class amenities at a modest extra cost! What would you like to make this trip perfect?” Stan asked, refusing to move out of Wednesday’s way.
“Your incessant prattling annoys me. How much for your tongue?”
“I… what?” Stan’s smile faltered and he paled as he looked down at the short goth girl in front of him.
“Your tongue. I’d like to carve it out so I can travel in silence. How much for it?”
“Uhm… I… you won’t be disturbed, Madame,” Stan mumbled, hastily getting out of Wednesday’s way.
“She’s kidding,” Enid said, shooting Stan a reassuring smile on her way to follow Wednesday to the upper floor of the bus. “I… think. Best to stay clear of us.”
Stan paled and nodded.
Wednesday was already in a chair by the time Enid ascended to the upper floor. Enid flopped into the seat next to hers just in time.
She squeaked and grabbed her chair as the bus shot south. The upper floor was thankfully empty and Stan stayed true to his word and stayed away.
Wednesday sat unmoving the entire duration of the trip, lost in thought and completely unaffected by the sudden twists and turns the bus took.
Enid, on the other hand, turned green and was close to hurling by the time the bus skidded to a halt on the pavement in front of Mungo’s. She stumbled down the stairs, a hand clamped to her mouth to stop herself from barfing.
“Have a pleasant-”
Wednesday turned to give him a deadpan stare.
Stan wisely shut up and simply waved as she exited the bus.
“Why do the British hate sane and reasonable modes of transport?” Enid questioned. She was bent over at her waist, a shaky hand holding her hair out of the way as she heaved. She took deep breaths, trying to calm her roiling stomach before she puked the contents of her dinner all over the grimy pavement.
“I don’t know. It worries me that I didn’t see any signs of a garage or a car in my future with Harry,” Wednesday murmured as she studied the deserted street. They were in a rough and worn-down suburb of London and the building they were standing in front of looked to be a derelict and abandoned structure. A glamor charm, if she had to guess. A simple but highly effective method to keep Mungo’s hidden from Muggles.
She doubted anyone walking down the street would so much as give the building a second glance.
“You alright?”
Enid nodded and straightened. Her face was still tinged with green but she followed Wednesday into the building.
St. Mungo’s lobby was as busy as ever. It had worn beige walls and a scuffed marble floor with a huge desk at the very end of the room. A harangued receptionist not only took care of the five phones on the desk but also the half dozen patients currently in the lobby, waiting to be assigned a Healer.
A hallway branched off to the right and contained a row of three lifts that carried patients and visitors to the upper floors.
I could be a Healer, Wednesday mused as she studied the woman with a boot sticking out her forehead. Next to her was a man who was groaning and poking a gray, slimy blob on his chest. The sights in front of her were surreal and macabre, just what she enjoyed in life.
While she studied the patients, Enid walked over to the receptionist.
“Hey, Rosie!” Enid said with a polite smile. “Busy day?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Rosie muttered with an annoyed grunt. “Sir!” She turned to the man with the blob on his chest. “Please stop poking it! If it bursts and infects everyone in this room the Healers will have my head!”
“Sounds like it. Anyway, I know visitation hours are over but that’s Harry’s girlfriend and she just hasn’t been the same since the attack. How about we sneak in for a quick visit? Just so that she can see he’s doing better?”
Rosie chewed her lower lip. “I really shouldn’t…”
“No one will know, Rosie,” Enid whispered as she reached out to squeeze her hand. “It’ll be our secret. Wouldn’t it feel great? Helping two soulmates heal? She really needs to see with her own eyes that he’ll be alright. She blames herself for what happened, you know?” Enid murmured sadly.
Rosie sucked in a sharp breath. Her eyes flickered to the novel on her desk before she turned her gaze back towards Enid. “They’re soulmates?”
“We think so.” Enid nodded solemnly. She had no idea if soulmates even existed but Rosie was convinced they did and a little embellishment never hurt anyone. “A seer said they’d spend the rest of their lives together, you know? Have beautiful children and grandchildren. I know you’d hate to stand in the way of true love.”
“Never!” Rosie exclaimed, causing Wednesday to look away from the woman with a boot in her head. She turned to them with a small frown and Enid shook her head discreetly, hoping her best friend would take the hint and stay put.
After all, sometimes honeyed words and the promise of romance worked much better than threats of bodily harm.
“No one will know,” Enid said, her voice low and conspiratorial. “I’ll drop her off and leave. It’ll be our secret.”
“A late-night rendezvous?” Rosie sighed dreamily.
“Yep,” Enid said with a slight grin. “I bet cuddles from his beloved are just what Harry needs to help him heal faster.”
“Oh, you’re absolutely right, young lady. The Healers won’t listen to me but I can prove cuddles and kisses have healing properties.”
“So you’ll let us in?”
“Take the first lift. They shifted him out of critical care today. He’s now on the fifth floor, room Five Zero One. Don’t get caught.”
“Thanks, Rosie. And don’t worry, we won’t,” Enid murmured. She nodded at Wednesday who reluctantly pulled away from the woman she was studying and followed her into the waiting lift.
“What took so long?”
“We were discussing the healing power of kisses,” Enid explained as she pressed the button that would take them to the fifth floor.
“Kisses have no healing power.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t tell her that.”
The elevator dinged quietly as it smoothly halted on the fifth floor. The doors pulled open and the two girls walked out into a heavily-carpeted and completely empty hallway. It was dark and silent. Rows of shut doors ran down the hallway on either side of them.
“Room Five Zero One. It’s to your right,” Enid said, holding open the elevator door with her foot.
“You’re not coming?”
“Nope. Hermione and I have been taking care of your boyfriend for the past two days. It’s your turn now.”
They needed some time alone. More importantly, Wednesday needed to learn to face her fears and Enid knew she’d never do that if she had the option to use her best friend as a crutch.
“Enid?”
“Yeah?” Enid asked. She walked back into the elevator and turned, her lips curved into a small smile.
“Thank you.”
Wednesday waited until the elevator doors had closed and she was alone before she took a deep breath and turned right, pausing in front of the first door next to the lifts.
501.
A wave of fear crashed into her as she grasped the brass doorknob. He was peaceful. She could feel discomfort through their connection, but by and large, he was at peace. Happy, even.
What if he had changed his mind? What if he didn’t want to see her anymore? What if he blamed her for not stopping their unknown adversary in time?
Her friends got hurt. Everyone she cared about got hurt because they were close to her.
That was a fact of life.
“Come in.”
His quiet voice broke her free from her reverie. He knew someone was at his door, but he still didn’t know who. She could still run and for a brief second, she considered doing so.
Stop! She screamed at the voice in her head. She was tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of living in denial.
Enid’s words echoed in her mind. But it wasn’t just Enid. Her mother would never have left her injured father’s side for even a second, no matter the circumstances of his injury.
She was done being a coward.
She took a deep breath and twisted the doorknob. She gently pushed open the door and slipped inside the dark room, making sure to shut the door behind her to ensure they weren’t disturbed.
He was propped up on a small mountain of pillows. The bed was large and looked comfortable, and for that she was thankful. His injuries didn’t appear as bad as they had in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Enid had told her bandages drenched in healing potions and smeared with experimental salves were being used to treat the cursed wounds on his hands, legs, and torso but he was covered with a blanket, hiding them from her view. Her heart skipped a beat as she took in his messy black hair, the massive bruise on his forehead, and his busted lip.
“Hi,” she said lamely, not knowing what to say for the first time in her life.
To her surprise, Harry smiled and patted the space on the bed next to him.
She could see he was severely injured and could feel his pain through their connection. She knew she needed to sit on the chair placed beside the bed but she couldn’t help herself.
A quiet whimper left her throat as she climbed into bed and gently laid down next to him. Her behavior was highly unlike her and she could see him frown from the corner of her eye.
Love makes a fool of us all.
Harry didn’t say anything. He just tilted his head to allow her to rest her cheek on his shoulder.
“Are you mad?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“Why would I be mad?” Harry asked. He sounded exhausted and his voice was barely audible, but the deep baritone caused familiar butterflies to flutter in her belly.
“Because I didn’t come to see you,” she whispered, her voice full of guilt.
Harry chuckled tiredly. “I presumed you were hunting down our mysterious assailant and ensuring they died a slow and horrible death. Please tell me you fed them to your pet piranhas.”
Hermione and Enid hadn’t told him anything about her horrible mental state, presumably in an effort not to worry him while he healed. Despite the guilt eating her alive, his gentle teasing brought a smile to her face. “They’re not my pets. They just like me because I have a habit of feeding them horrible men.”
“Well, did you feed them this horrible man?”
“It wasn’t a man who directed the Inferi to attack us. It was a woman. The same one I saw in my dream.”
“So we’re not dealing with Voldemort,” Harry whispered, breathing a sigh of relief. “Though to be fair, I don’t know if I should be happy or worried. Voldemort never figured out how to make his Inferi fireproof.”
There was a lot they needed to talk about, including her now undeniable feelings and the connection she had with him, but she knew figuring out the identity of their attacker was just as important.
“I faced her. She has some connection to him. She spoke about him like she loves him.” It had taken her a day to place the longing and pain in the woman’s voice. It was the same hurt her voice carried whenever she had spoken about Harry the past couple of days.
“I know only one woman who fits that description and I watched her die with my own eyes.” Harry frowned. It couldn’t be Bellatrix. Could it? Had Voldemort given her the knowledge to make her own Horcruxes?
Knowing what he knew about him, he doubted Voldemort would have shared that secret with anyone, even his most trusted lieutenant.
“Maybe it was someone else. You told me you had no idea who was working for him after he took over the Ministry, right?”
“Maybe,” Harry murmured, deep in thought.
“Is there anyone who can give us information about the inner workings of the Death Eaters? There might be someone you missed.”
“Narcissa Black, I guess. She saved my life, divorced her husband, and last I heard she was helping Kingsley track down the Death Eaters the Ministry still hasn’t captured.”
“I’ll ask Hermione to arrange a meeting. Because I have no idea how to find the woman who attacked us.”
This time there was no mistaking his frown.
“What were you doing for the past two days, Wednesday? I thought you were trying to find and subdue that woman before she hurt someone else.”
And there it was. The question she had been dreading.
What had she been doing?
She took a deep breath and tried to swallow the knot in her throat. “I… I tried to stay awake every single moment of the past two days. I could not allow myself to dream. I have walked the hallways of Hogwarts like a ghost… no, not a ghost,” she said, her voice laced with bitter irony. She had become the very thing she had mocked so often. “Like a lovesick puppy who lost her master. I love you and I tried so hard to pretend I didn’t,” Wednesday whispered, sounding devastated and close to tears.
“Did it work? I have a feeling it didn’t. Unfortunately, love is a condition that can’t be cured with a deathly glare and a cursed knife.”
Wednesday snapped her eyes up at him in disbelief. There was no anger, just a small smile and a playful twinkle in his eyes that instantly made her feel better.
“Enid talked a lot when she thought I was unconscious. You've been talking a lot too, in your sleep. Two daughters, is it?” Harry asked, raising a bandaged hand and tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“She told you?!”
“Well… not directly. She overheard you and was talking to herself this morning. I was barely conscious but one doesn’t miss something like that,” Harry murmured, laughing at the enraged expression on Wednesday’s face. An adorable blush graced her pale cheeks. “I’m not upset because you needed time to process what happened and figure out your own feelings, my little hellcat. Love can be scary,” he said softly, his own fears shining through for a brief second.
“I’m not afraid of loving you,” Wednesday admitted, resting her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the steady THUMPING of his heartbeat.
“What are you afraid of, Wednesday?”
“I’m afraid of losing you,” Wednesday choked out past the knot in her throat.
“Wednesday I’m not-”
She pulled away and glared at him. “Are you seriously going to tell me you’re not going anywhere three days after you decided to sacrifice yourself to save me and some Muggles?”
Harry responded with a sheepish smile.
Wednesday leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips, her body shaking as a strangled sob escaped her throat. “It was my fault. The ritual… my presence is what allowed that woman to find us. I couldn’t come here… I couldn’t see you knowing-”
Tears were streaming down her face as the dam finally burst and all the emotions she had kept bottled up spilled free.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Harry said firmly. He groaned quietly as he shifted to one side, his stiff hands gently wrapping around her slender frame and pulling her into his chest. “You are the reason we know what we’re dealing with. Sometimes our actions have unexpected consequences and that’s not anyone’s fault,” Harry whispered, holding her as tightly as his injured arms could manage while she cried, her tears staining his gown.
“That’s not all the ritual did,” Wednesday whispered, her voice hoarse. “I-it gave me a connection to you. I could feel you in the back of my mind. Not your thoughts. Just your presence. It was like a warm hug, the kind you give that I pretend to hate,” Wednesday murmured. Her voice was raw and emotional as she allowed someone to glimpse at her true self for the first time in her life.
People never saw past her macabre tastes, never glimpsed at the woman who would do anything to protect the people she loved.
“It was… My mother once told me that when she is with my father she can hear the symphony of the universe and see the beauty in everything around her. I finally understood what she meant,” Wednesday continued, hiccuping as her sobs subsided. “And then that presence was violently snuffed out and I was all alone,” she whispered numbly, her body shaking.
“Oh, my love,” Harry whispered sadly. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how traumatized she was. All he could do was help her heal. “Is it back? My presence?”
Wednesday nodded into his chest. “I feel exhaustion and pain and…” She paused before continuing shyly. “Love.”
“A warm hug, the kind you pretend to hate?”
“Yes,” Wednesday whispered, smiling against his hospital gown.
“Is this why you keep having dreams about our future? Because of our connection?”
“I don’t know. There’s so much about my powers that I still don’t understand,” Wednesday replied, a hint of frustration creeping into her voice. “The first time I saw our future was right after the ritual.”
“Please tell me we’re not in a throuple with the crazy Inferi lady.”
“Maybe you have a thing for slightly unhinged murderous women, sir,” Wednesday teased. She relaxed into his arms, the worries of the past few days melting away as she was enveloped by his presence physically and mentally.
“I have a feeling she’ll rip my dick off with her teeth.”
“So will I, if you presume to think I’ll share you with another woman.”
Harry chuckled. “Noted. So we’re not in a throuple.”
“I had two separate visions that night.” Wednesday rolled her eyes. “That was the last time I saw that woman in a vision. I think she’s blocking me because I’ve gotten pretty good at controlling what I see.”
“You can see into the future at will?!”
“Not exactly. My true visions are still random but I can revisit things I’ve already seen.”
“Like our future. The one you saw originally.”
“Mhm. I’ve been trying and failing to revisit my vision of that woman. I thought I might be able to see something I missed the first time. Something that’ll help us find her. But I can’t.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
“Do you want to see it? The vision of our future?”
“Can you do that?”
“I think so. Enid got a glimpse when she grabbed my shoulder to wake me up.”
“What do I need to do?”
“Nothing.” Wednesday closed her eyes and concentrated on her connection with Harry. “Just fall asleep with me.”
Notes:
The best part about writing any character is writing their growth in a story. How the plot and their interactions with other characters affects them and how a particular relationship changes them. This is true not just for Wednesday but also for Harry. Harry is learning to be more, shall we say, open-minded while Wednesday who is still a badass character is learning to be okay with her softer side. It's what makes them such a great pairing. Chapters 10-14 are already out and you can read them right now!
