Girl after All.

"My parents were killed when I was four, and the killers kidnapped me to experiment with magic. During captivity they will periodically bring new people, but none of them lasted longer than a couple of weeks." - Alan said with a blank eyes, staring straight ahead. - "There is once a girl about six or seven... she was brought and placed in the cell opposite to mine. Back than I thought I will try to encourage her... that maybe there is hope to escape..."

Alan stopped and leaned on the tree, sliding down. Right now he looked like a wounded little animal, weak and fragile, nothing like his usual self, slightly humorous and confident to the point of negligence.

"She was injected with alchemy substances, but nothing too severe. I thought maybe in her face they decided gentle approach and really hoped she will survive... we will survive together and get out of there. But on the eight day at night a drunk Death Eater..." - Alan slip of a tongue made Coen commit the name of group to memory. He swore on his blade that if in his travels he happen to bump onto them, slaughter will be the only manner of speech he will prepare for communication. - "...came inside her cell. He opened it, but wasn't really satisfied, he wanted audience, so he opened mine and make me watch all the way. She was just a seven years old kid, Coen. She cried for help and screamed in pain, while he was raping her like a damn mindless beast with that lustful look on his pig-like snout and laughing in pleasure." - Alan hid his face in his arms. - "But the scariest thing was her look after all was done and that scum left the doors open. She looked at me, the one who said everything will be fine and do you know what she cried to me while feeling all that?"

Coen stood there without a word.

"She looked with pain and despair in her gaze and said..." - Alan pierced witchers eyes with agonizing glance. - "She said: 'You lied.' and I found no words of reply. I can only watch how that happened again the next day, and after that with several more joining in... by that time she was just a doll with mindless eyes. She died, when they brought Gerhid to her as a way to entertain themselves. Please don't ask who Gerhid is, you don't want to know it, believe me."

"Now you tell me, witcher, can I take it easy? And don't give me the bullcrap about time that will heal and help. Time will do shit! It might work for others, but not for me."

That was his first time telling anyone about one of the darkest things that happened back than. He didn't tell much about his years in the cell to Fleur or Selena, how could he? But witcher was a right listener and the one who saw the bottom of human nature first hand.

He was the only one who could have understood and really empathized with Alan, not anyone back in the previous world. Actually, after several weeks here Alan knew one thing – he doesn't belong to Harry Potter world at all. Not with their pink merry times and happy schooling full of ignorance, while such dark shit happening at their back yard.

Not after all the crap he had been put through.

The only people that are still holding his heart there are Fleur and Selena. But even with them there was always a wall. He knew he had no way to tell everything, it will change them and possibly ruin their relationship.

It is not about belief in your friends and what not.

It is a goddamn fact that Fleur will have nightmares and Selena will go on rampage if they knew every single detail.

"What you can do is live with it like a man." - simply said Coen with ruthlessness an old witcher with heap of scars himself will say. - "Kill the ones you think you need to kill, spare the others and remain in peace with yourself!"

"Yeah. Guess that is all I can do." - Alan stood up and again composed himself. One can't just wail in self-pity. World won't wait for you to take it easy, if you do, it will ruthlessly pummel you to the ground. - "Let's go."

'But one on these days in the future I will go back. And, oh man, I'll make sure every single Death Eater will drown in their own blood, so that in the generations to come none will even try to think about some supremacy shit like Voldemort. They will tremble in fear of my name and not the dark lord's every time they remember what happened.'

Coen nodded and followed the trail to the cave near the water creek. It wasn't creepy or anything, on the contrary, it had flowers around, clearly transplanted from somewhere else. They stealthily made their way inside, adjusting to dim lighting and heard scratching sounds by the corner.

"Who is there?" - came a voice of a young woman, around twenty or so. - "Don't come closer! Please!"

Alan was about to go forward when Coen hold him back with a shake of a head.

"Don't be careless, there are many treacherous monsters who can imitate others. Stay vigilant." - he whispered and soundlessly unsheathed his silver sword.

They moved closer to the source of a voice and witcher put Quen on himself stepping forward.

Finally, they saw a creature in the corner. It was hiding from light under the veil of darkness and trembling a bit. Alan looked closely and was stunned to see a woman body with lower half belonging to a huge arachnid.

But they didn't attack immediately, opting to have a chat.

"Hello, I'm Alan and that is my friend, Coen, a witcher."

"W-Witcher? A-Are you h-here to k-kill me?" - came a sobbing reply and Coen let down his guard a bit. One thing is to imitate human speech and completely another – to have a conversation.

"It depends on you." - said Coen and Alan nearly kicked him for this. Some psychologist he is.

"N-No! Not again... not that... please..." - she started crying and trembling again.

"No one will harm you... why don't you tell us your story?"

"Story? I don't remember... I only know something bad happened and they harmed me... why people harm me? I'm a good girl..." - she sounded a bit childish for her age.

"What is going on?" - asked Coen, but got answer from unexpected source.

"What a pure soul she has!" - said Alan suddenly receiving a heap of information. It was something similar to revelation from unknown source and he knew, that it might be Eye of Eternium. It was a primary function of it – to collect, store and analyze magical knowledge. Looks like it started working finally and with a real enhancement to boot. Really amasing how it was able to adapt to the local laws and upgrade itself. - "But sadly it is dissipating, she has at most couple of days to live. Someone is constantly devouring her soul through the curse, that made her body like that. Not even a gray blemish on the soul! This girl is a living saint."

And then Alan understood what has to be done with a grim look on his face. They need to kill her. And do it as fast as possible, that way at least they can help her soul preserve itself and reincarnate again. She only remembers her childhood and present. It is pointless to interrogate her.

Her death will be a salvation of sorts.

Alan with pensive look told what he figured out to Coen and the later just sighed. Curses are very complicated things and if what Alan said about her soul is true, lifting it won't do a thing, only return her to human look.

"Coen, this curse is a bit complex." - said Alan. - "It was placed by one person, who now helps the other to devour her. It is hard to pinpoint, but the helper is in direction of a town, while devourer is too far away, months of travel away actually. I can help you find the helper, just walk around the town for some time... but... Coen, can you give me your sword and some time alone with Fela?"

"You sure, kid?" - witcher glanced at Alan clearly unwilling to give a tough job for a child.

"I have to do this, at least that way I can save her soul." - he said firmly, fully accepting his own responsibility over the choice being made on the matter.

"Fine. I'll wait outside." - he nodded and walked out, leaving silver sword in Alan's hand. The later heard his grumbling about magic and all that while Coen disappeared from the view.

"That's not how I wanted to wield silver sword for the first time." - he sighed and came up to Fela, who was shivering. - "Don't be afraid." - he smiled and placed the sword on the ground. - "I don't know whether you will understand all the things I will say to you right now, but... at the very least I need to explain everything and why I have to do this."

She listened and cried, but when it was time, Fela tried to run away, when she couldn't she pleaded to do it a bit later...

It was hard. One will find a person quietly embracing death with a smile only in fairytale. Real world is way more prosaic.

Alan killed her as if killing a part of himself. And he swore, that if by chance he will be able to find her soul somewhere again with his vision, he will take proper care of her for the rest of his life no matter how and who she end up to be.

Back than he never could have thought, that it was this very moment, that created and unbreakable bond.

A bond of Destiny.

Coen looked at Alan, who walked out with pale face. He heard everything and could only give him understanding look.

"Hey, old fossil." - the later suddenly said with a trembling voice. - "Care to share a drink?"