Unofficial Portkey Archive

The frigid winds of winter were cascading across the snow-swept countryside. I can barely remember when it had last been this cold. The kind of chill that causes an ache deep in your bones and the kind of snow that stings your face when you cross its flurried path. I would not let myself be deterred. I was on a mission and I would not allow the season to dictate my destination.

It was an odd request but I have always taken the strangest of paths since I first met him. Sometimes a prisoner and sometimes a friend. I had always been there and I would continue to, until I simply could be there no more. I remember the dark tension over the years. I had often felt it myself. The screaming and the anger were sometimes almost too much to bear. I always told myself that if he could survive then who was I to decree otherwise. I wish I could have offered him my wisdom, but I know that he would never listen. So, instead I did what I could and have sometimes paid the price enough to prove it.

This time was so very different. A long drawn out sigh as he whispered to me what he needed. I questioned him silently, but in the end I accepted fate to be what it was. The candle had long since burned itself out, but he had finished and simply waited until he could bring himself to do it. As I knew he would, he made the decision and never looked back.

So, I continue the long journey for him. If I could go any faster I would, but the burden kept me at my current pace. The sun was slowly sinking and the bitter air became even worse. I pressed on. I looked out across a silent field and noticed dark stones piercing through the crystal snow. Each bore words of loss and anguish, but I could not read them from here. They were standing in rows like some kind of strange orchard where the trees never grow. I turned my head away, for I did not like to stare at the quiet scene of those who have left this life; it reminded me too much of my own mortality.

I pressed on.

The rolling hills gave way to rural streets and thatched houses. It wasn't too much farther, but still it seemed an eternity. I heard the piercing whistle of a night train in the distance. I often found myself remembering that last journey aboard a train. It seemed so final and disconcerting. He brooded a bit, but I know in the end that he would be happier. He kept looking back to what he was leaving behind, but I was too excited about what lie ahead. He was finally done with this chapter of his life and about to begin a new one. Caught in the same moment of time together as we had often been. Yet, our perspectives were always so different. I accepted that we did not see things in the same light. It never seemed to upset him when we disagreed. I always liked that about him.

Up ahead, the houses were much closer together. There were street lights along the lanes, but the cold was so bad that many were not lit. I could see well enough to get there though. I began to follow the streets more carefully, as it was always easier that way. The long journey was nearing an end. I instantly recognized the landmarks. The house on the corner, the cars on the street parked just so. I turned and suddenly I was there.

I angled my wings to compensate for the wintry gusts. I held my claws out and landed on the garden sill by their bedroom window. It was late, but I was tired and couldn't wait any longer. I gently tapped on the icy glass. There was no answer, and so I tapped again, more insistently this time. Still no answer. I sighed and tapped loudly until finally the window was thrown open. His round and blustery face was filled with tired confusion. After a moment his eyes came to rest on me and got quite large.

"What on earth do you want? I thought we had seen the bloody last of you!"

I held out my leg and preened behind my left wing. I guess he finally saw the parchment tied there and he grabbed it and just as quickly shut the window. No snacks or water, a pity, but not a large surprise. I'm confident that he never really liked me. I waited in the window for a brief moment to see his reaction. I doubt they would bother with a reply.

He unrolled the parchment, while beside him his wife looked down at it with dismay. It read, quite simply…

Scribbled at the bottom of the invitation was the following…

My work was finally done. I turned into the dark night and began my new journey… home.