trans_9 | Spared [Open]

Entry tags:

Spared [Open]

"Reducto!"

Cedric had found a spot in the grass of this strange city's park from which to work on his spellcasting, starting with some target practice. He'd pushed back the sleeves of his plantsuit as far as was possible and made long movements with his wand, alternating between creating fast streams of bubbles and shooting them down. The almost childish game of bubble-popping was a simple diversion from the stream of thoughts that was flowng just as fast, one that hadn't stopped since the moment he realized he was alive: I'm about to die. It was hard to comprehend, when it seemed like his life had been going so well just hours ago.

Yet these Ohm had thrown everything off balance. Cedric had gone straight to Stacy to ask for his memories restored, as he'd never rest until he knew the truth of what happened. It had been just as hard to remember as that unicorn princess had predicted. Sure, the curse that was meant to kill him had been thrown off by another attack, but he'd heard awful yells. Harry's. When the sedation had worn off and he'd opened his eyes, he'd had to struggle not to scream.

That was what had happened to disrupt the course of history. For now, he had been given days, weeks, maybe months or a year or two to live, that long until he left this crew behind and met his fate. People had talked about their worlds being restored after the war. The Ohm were supposed had something that would fix things as they were meant to be, and 'meant to be' was his death. If he didn't die during the war, he'd be meeting his end immediately afterward. Time couldn't be changed, not even with a Time Turner. It had to happen.

Cedric was living on borrowed time. No one knew how long it would be until they won. They were going to win, he was sure. A small selfish part of him hoped that it would last a while, that he would have time to finish his unfinished business and learn more, but that was unfair. He couldn't allow the needless deaths to hang over his conscience any longer than necessary. The countless innocents killed during the Ohm's attack needed to live, not him. Billions of lives resurrected in exchange for his death, that was fair. He was the spare, not them. No matter what his father said or the Goblet decided, he wasn't special in the eyes of the universe, was he? He was just...

The spare who had been temporarily spared. A bubble waiting to be popped. Pop, pop, pop went the bubbles as his wand moved more precisely. If this was all the life he had left, he might as well do it right.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"My family wasn't struggling, but not all wizards are wealthy. Hogwarts accepts any witch or wizard in Britain. The whole wizarding community supports it, because we need a place to learn to control our magic. Before we start at Hogwarts, we're prone to explosive magical outbursts."

Cedric smiles as he recalls his own first display of magic. His parents had been so confused when they woke up!

"Our parents celebrate when we manage to use magic for the first time, because there's always a risk we might not be magical---they don't know until they see it. When we turn eleven, we're ready to start our first year. The summer before, we get an acceptance letter, and then we're off for seven years at Hogwarts. I was just finishing my sixth."

"Sounds like what happened when kids developed superpowers in my home. Except with a little less death, probably." He tilts his head to the side. "What happens if you're not magical? Do they kick you out and make you live on the streets?"

From what Howard can piece together, that means Cedric's probably the equivalent of a junior in American high school terms. So maybe 16, 17 years old. Not that much older than Howard is.

"It depends on the family's wishes," Cedric recalled. "It's a sensitive thing, being a Squib. Some of them go out into the Muggle world, it's kinder for them not to be around magic. Some of them choose to stay in the wizarding world. They can work in our businesses, grow herbs, or care for certain magical plants, but they'll never be able to cast magic. Most families are disappointed but understanding when it happens." Cedric was sure Howard could guess who wouldn't be happy---who would toss their child to the curb.

"I've met a few people with superpowers here. It sounds risky."

"So kind of like if your kid's gay. I mean, that sounds kind of what it'd be like on our world. Well, would have been like." He bites his lip a little, thinking about his conversation with Karis. 'Disappointed'. At least he doesn't have parents to disappoint anymore.

"Probably no riskier than magic, I'd guess. I mean, what happens if you accidentally magic someone into oblivion?" His eyes widen. "Can you even do that?"

"A bit like that, yeah." Cedric wasn't an expert on that subject by any means, but he thought that was terribly unfair too. It wasn't their fault, they were lonely and afraid.

"That can't happen," he says almost too quickly. "At least, it shouldn't be. Magic requires a strong intent behind it. Only wizards with the surest intent can use any of the worst curses. The worst that might happen accidentally is that someone appears somewhere else, but we always find them. Powers are probably similar."

Howard tilts his head at how quickly and emphatically Cedric answers, but he supposes he's not the expert here. "And let me guess, the dudes using the worst curses are the bad guys who hate the not-magic people, right? Because that's the impression I'm getting."

He jams his hands in his pockets. "Kind of. Only something when kids get theirs back home they end up burying themselves alive or accidentally killing people."

"Yes," Cedric sighs, "but I wouldn't necessarily say they're the only ones. The use of any of those curses is unforgivable in our world and will send the caster straight to Azkaban, the wizard prison. There's the Imperius Curse, which will bend a person to your will. The Cruciatus Curse causes extreme physical torture. And I'm sure you can figure out the effect of the Killing Curse. I've had all three used against me at one point or another."

He winces, finding it hard to imagine the pain a family would go though to find that. Their friends gone. The parents were already gone for some mysterious reason, Cedric reminds himself.

They're finally approaching the transport tubes. Cedric takes one last glance over his shoulder at the city and sighs. "I'd say it's a massive place, but it's rather small with everything taken into consideration."

"That's how you died, right?" Past tense. Because Howard doesn't really believe they'll be able to escape their homes. It's all borrowed time, and no matter how long it is it will be too short.

Howard cranes his neck up and looks at the fake sky. "It is, when you think about it. Bigger than my home by maybe fifty percent, but still. It bothers me that I only see real sunlight when I'm off on some mission getting shot at."

That was right. Cedric gave a quick nod. "It's a rush of green light, and your body simply...stops. Everything goes cold and dark in an instant, it's painless. I haven't actually felt the effect yet, but I've seen them in a demonstration." It still hurt, that that was happening to him and it couldn't be stopped. But what could be done now? Nothing.

"It's always dangerous, then? Even these shore leaves I've heard about?"

"At least it's painless," Howard says quickly. "A friend of mine told me his death hurt."

And maybe it's a good thing that Howard's so afraid of that pain. Sometimes death is tempting, but pain pretty much never is, at least not to him.

"I don't think they're supposed to be, but we don't have a great track record with them. The missions? The missions are always dangerous. And embarrassing. But mostly dangerous." He holds a foot out and waggles it. There are puncture marks in the shoe. "I got bit by a dinosaur on my first one."

"...if he was dead, how did he tell you this? Was he a ghost?"

It was sad when people became ghosts. They couldn't let go of their lives, their unfinished business, so they instead became a mere shadow of themselves living a half-life. At least, that was how it happened in his world.

That news about the shore leaves wasn't welcome, but he was grateful. "Thanks for the warning. I'll stay armed and keep training, maybe---oh, wow. You've met a dinosaur. You're lucky to be here, right?"

"What, you think the dead always stay dead?" Howard sort of wishes they would, even if that means he wouldn't have met Rory. His concepts of death have been wildly rocked since he locked a zombie in his basement, and somehow he misses the comfort of thinking that death just means stopping.

Besides, he told Rory he wouldn't tell anyone about all that Roman stuff. "Anyway, it's a long story. But nobody ever told me death is fun. Oh, here we are."

When they reach the Med Bay Howard's steps lighten a little. Everything in his body language expresses how much more comfortable he is here than most places. His smile is even genuine, instead of a semi-sarcastic smirk. He dumps his backpack at his desk and starts up the coffee pot in the corner.

He gestures and moves things around his desk as he babbles. "So, anyway, this is the Med Bay. We don't have ambulances or medical brooms or whatever your place's equivalent might be, but some of our medics can move pretty fast, so we can get you pretty immediate care if you page us over the comms. And yeah, dinosaurs are totally not fun. Do not trust Land Before Time. It's a bunch of lies."

"Where I come from, they do," Cedric was quick to say. "It's one of the first things every young wizard or witch learns about magic. No spell can reawaken the dead. We can slow death, we can heal from almost-fatal injuries, but once we've died...that's the end. Some spirits live on as ghosts in a sort of half-life, and certain very dark and rare spells can revive corpses similar to what Muggles call zombies, but there's no resurrection."

They all had to accept it every time a relative died. Magic was wonderful, but it had its limits.

"I've got it. Here's hoping I won't have to call you for a while." Cedric looked over the medical bay, amazed. It was so much fuller than the meager hospital wing, little gadgets galore where spells would have done for a wizard. It was likely that they could provide excellent care.

Not touching anything, as a good uninitiated person should, he nodded and turned to leave. "Well I wouldn't want to keep you. Have a good shift, and---thanks for the warnings. I'll be wary of any dinosaurs."

Howard gives Cedric a little wave, sliding into his swivel chair and pulling files up and out of his little cabinet. Nice enough kid, he thinks, but god, the wizarding world sounds bizarre.

"Toodles," he says in a perky voice. "Seriously, though, take care and don't go into any mines. Later!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Spared [Open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

and that's a wrap!