#durmstranqs

Something flickered inside Pansy, as a simple alohomora turned the lock of the grand front door. She thought, perhaps, that it was fear but as it built up inside of her she recognised it as justice, vengeance, control.

“He’s upstairs,” Angel spoke for the first time since they had established their legilimency connection ten minutes earlier, “in the library.”

“Is he expecting company?” Pansy asked, twirling a knife in her left hand, “I would hate to interrupt.”

“I believe he knows his time is coming.”

Pansy knew this house, she had spent time here as a child, at balls and charity functions, and she allowed the third stair to creak under her weight. She imagined Eliezer cowering in the library behind a shelf. Fear would not save him, but it would gratify her.

She was quiet but not silent as she ascended the stairs, hoping the soft rustles would scare him, the house was breathing its last breath. Casting a quick revealing charm Pansy saw the jinxes Carrow had put in place in an attempt to save himself. She almost laughed, it was futile for him to try and hide; she could disable all of these charms in her sleep. She set to work on the anti-intruder jinx, it was difficult to unravel but not impossible. Slowly she unpicked the jinx as though it were an unfortunate embroidery hoop, threading the needle in reverse to release the strands of the nasty curse. Just when she thought her attempts ineffective, the jinx fell away.

 Pansy then quickly disabled the other jinxes and hexes before moving to the door of the library. It was locked and as the silent alohomora Pansy cast did nothing, she almost groaned in frustration. Eliezer was on the other side of this door – it was just a matter of getting to him.

“It’s likely a clausaro charm,” Angel spoke up, “you’ll have to unpick it.” 

Pansy unwound the locking charm much like she had the other charms and relished the soft click that told her the door was open. She considered a disillusionment charm for a moment but decided against it; she wanted Carrow to know she was coming for him and that there was nothing he could do to stop her.

Pansy trod lightly into the library, it was grand but not large enough for Carrow to hide. He shot a stunning spell at Pansy from behind a shelf, which she deflected. After deflecting several more hexes and a particularly deadly entrail-expelling curse, Pansy bound Carrow with a well-aimed incarcerous.

 Carrow scrambled to get away from her, kicking his legs in an attempt to free them, until his back hit the bookshelf behind him and he realised he was trapped.

Pansy removed a dagger from her belt. It was long and silver, with a handle shaped like a fish. It felt heavy in her palm, it felt like everything she had lost, everything she was willing to give to get it back.

Standing over Carrow she fingered the knife, relishing the look of fear on his face. He knew better than to beg, however. Which, although she wouldn’t admit it, made it easier for Pansy. 

The knife fell from her fingers in a practiced spiral, sinking into Eliezer’s chest with a soft precision. She had meant to hit a major artery, and she hit her target on her first try. Still, she removed the knife slowly from Carrow’s chest, watching his face critically to discern any sign that the wound may not be deadly.

His eyes met hers as he struggled to move in some attempt to retroactively save himself. After a few quiet minutes his eyes closed as blood loss rendered him unconscious, Pansy knew that he would be dead within another five.

Retrieving a clean handkerchief from her pocket Pansy wiped the blade of the dagger clean and replaced it in her belt. She then opened the library window and whistled for a crow.

A silent moment stretched just long enough that Pansy felt her skin begin to crawl before a bird appeared out of the darkness, flapping its way down to the windowsill. Pansy held out the handkerchief for the bird to take, petting its head briefly before it took off, the evidence of her kill in tow.

She closed the window, wiping it down in case of fingerprints, and left the house the same way she had entered, stopping only briefly at Carrow’s body to check for a pulse. There was none.

“Target neutralised.” Pansy told Angel over the link, not bothering to wait for a reply before she terminated it.

The quiet London streets felt too quiet, too calm as the backdrop to the blood rushing through Pansy’s head. The jubilation of her first kill, of retribution coursing through her body left her high. She felt as though she could do anything, have anything; but Pansy couldn’t have the things she wanted anymore so instead she quietly returned to her apartment, where her two cats and a bottle of red that she had been saving for a special occasion were waiting for her.

As Pansy rummaged through her kitchen drawer for a bottle opener, her phone buzzed where it sat on the counter.

2:47am a crow? How fitting

Pansy knew she shouldn’t reply. While Pansy was confined to cower in the shadows, Potter was the sun. She scrolled absently through the dozen or so texts prior to this one that she hadn’t responded to. This one shouldn’t be any different.

But today was different. Today the entirety of Pansy’s body buzzed, she felt drunk and reckless, she wanted more.

2:49am bite me potter

The reply was instant.