Kaleidoscope || t. scamander

If We Don't Have Tomorrow

Roo stared past the window pane that was frosted with ice and watched the snow fall in a silent gesture over the plains of Paris. Everything was stark white, reflecting the light and causing her eyes to burn if she looked at it for too long. She blinked down at the courtyard where a group of people had collectively formed a circle around two wizards that were duelling in a friendly sparring match, and something in her chest tugged at her heartstrings. 

She didn't want to think about it. She couldn't think about it. 

Roo squeezed her eyes shut for a whole minute, a silent prayer falling past her lips for the lives that were about to be taken away, about the number of people that were going to grieve once this War was over.

"Roo, it's time for the meeting." 

The said young woman tore her gaze away from the multitude of wizards and turned towards Tina. Swallowing back the fear, Roo nodded before following her friend down the hallway. They walked together before Tina ducked into a marble archway flanked by two white horse statues made out of the finest, purest porcelain, into the French Ministry's Council Room. Most aurors were already seated at the long narrow table in the centre, made out of the same marble except it was coloured deep sea foam green. The chairs were out of the softest deep green velvet and Roo couldn't help but admire the beautiful intricate chandelier that hung loosely from the ceiling, its diamonds reflecting the light from the windows. 

She caught Theseus's eye amidst the crowd and watched his gaze soften slightly. She smiled hesitantly, only to be interrupted by the French Minister's voice booming with instructions. 

He droned on about the specifics, about the strategies that they'd devised and had talked about for days on end. She could feel his unease in the air, the shifty way his eyes would flicker about in nervousness, and there was no denying that the entire table was drenched in the same kind of energy. On the other side of the table sat the British Minister, whose face was green and looked as though he was going to throw up at any moment. 

Her hands fisted in her lap as her thoughts brought her back to Hawke's unconscious figure still lying in the hospital wing. There had been no advancement in her research despite her countlessly poring over books for any kind of reason, any solution that would pull her senior out of his eternal slumber. But time was ticking and it was running out. She was pretty certain that the longer they waited to cure him, the worse the situation was going to be. 

If they could cure him at all.

On the other hand, some good news had come out of her finding some kind of solution to Credence's issue. After she'd found some kind of method to hone in the monster tearing at his magic, Dumbledore and Theseus had reported that he was making significant progress. Apparently, the young man had even managed to control spells and was given a wand to celebrate the occasion. While they were still unsure of the extent of his power, it was good enough knowing that Credence could now make use of his power for the greater good. Grindelwald would sure not expect that, which at least gave them some kind of comfort. 

Too soon, the meeting was over. Roo stood up as the sea of people tumbled out of the room. Tina was waiting for her at the door, quickly grasping her arm and pulling her to the side. 

"What? What's wrong?" Roo asked upon noticing the concerned frown in between her friend's eyebrows. 

"Are you sure about using Credence?" 

It was Roo's turn to frown, "I'm certain Dumbledore and Theseus have made sure that Credence knows his limits." Tina's frown did not clear up, and Roo pressed on, "Why? What's wrong?"