“It’s time,� the cold voice says.

William Mercer looks up from his feet at the two Death Eaters framed in the doorway. His time was up, and now they had come for him.

They procure a set of manacles from their robes, and with a wave of a wand, they soar over and clasp William’s hands together.

“Get up!� the shorter Death Eater with the raspy voice commands.

William meekly obeys; he stands up from his perch on the plain mattress. Rough hands grab his shoulders and pull him out of the cruel, dark cell and through the doorway.

He had only been through the dimly lit hallway once before, and this time is destined to be his last. The two Death Eaters shove him in front of them and march him down the corridor, prodding him roughly with their wands.

It’s a cruel, cruel world, reflects William as he walks on. What had he done to deserve such a fate? All he had done was help his friends and family, like anybody would do, like any Wizard or Witch with even an ounce of conscience.

But tragically for him, there are the ones who lack. They are the Death Eaters, and they had taken over. They hate him simply for what he is, never mind what he had done. Mudblood, they call him.

He is vermin, the bane of the Wizarding World itself. Born of Muggles, William had stolen the secret of magic from a pure-blood. At least, that is what the new regime said he had done, but of course, he did nothing of the sort.

What he had done was far worse, even more so than the inexcusable crime of being Muggle-born.

He had helped – tried to help – his equals; other Muggle-borns, other Mudbloods.

The Roberts were old school friends, and like William, they too were Muggle-borns. Shortly after the takeover, he had tried his hardest to help them flee the country.

His hardest hadn’t been enough.

Someone had leaked. Either that, or the Death Eaters just knew what they were about to do, when, and where. It didn’t matter; the Roberts were just as dead. They never had a chance.

William had been amazed at how he miraculously survived the volley of curses, but fate had saved him from death in the savage ambush. He was captured instead.

His future is sealed. He walks on in the dark corridor, the two Death Eaters at his back.

They finally reach a plain, black door, and one of the Death Eaters points his wand at it. The door opens its dark maw to reveal nothing but darkness within, inviting them inside.

Through the door and inside is a circular chamber; the walls, ceiling, and floor of cold, black marble stone. Spaced on the walls are chilling, dancing blue flames stemming from the candle brackets. The already dim lights do not travel far; the room is smothered in shadow.

The door closes with grim finality, and the two Death Eaters lead William into the centre of the room. “Kneel,� the cruel-voiced Death Eater orders, and William falls to his knees.

The cruel-voiced Death Eater pulls out a shiny pocket watch. William can hear its persistent, soft ticking.

“You die at midnight, Mudblood,� the Death Eater says. “You have a little more than five minutes left to live.�

Five minutes. Five minutes to savour his last moments on this earth…

“Why don’t we just kill him now?� the raspy-voiced Death Eater asks. “Why do we have to do it by the stupid clock?�

“Calm down,� the other one retorts. “You can wait five minutes, can’t you?�

The raspy-voiced Death Eater only grunts in response.

William feels a soft prod on the back of his neck. The cruel-voiced Death Eater is testing the future point of impact with his wand. “The Killing Curse is too good for you,� he scolds. “If it was up to me, you’d be snogging a Dementor.�

The Death Eater’s companion chuckles stupidly and mutters something about “lipstick.�

William still hears the soft ticking of the Death Eater’s pocket watch. More precious seconds of his life are bleeding away…

He closes his eyes, willing himself not to cry. This is it, William thinks to himself. The end. He is going to die, and nothing is going to change that. His only small consolation is that his family, thankfully, is safe. His wife Antigone is in safe hands as a pure-blood, and his three-year old son Samuel is only half contaminated.

But he will never see them again. Antigone will be a widower, and little Sammy will not have a father anymore. William’s fate is far crueller to them than it could ever be to himself. Death will come quickly to take William away, but his family will be left behind. It is not fair, but after all, when has life ever been?

William wishes only to see his wife and son once more before his end, but knows it is not possible. His time left is too short, but he wishes it nonetheless. The pocket watch ticks on…

He opens his eyes, suddenly knowing what to do.

William rises quickly as he turns, swinging his bound arms in an arc. There is a grim crunching sound as his manacled fists meet the cruel-voiced Death Eater’s face, a grinding of metal on bone.

The Death Eater shrieks, and he drops his wand as his hands shoot upwards to caress his bleeding, painful face. William reaches for the falling wand–

“AVADA KEDAVRA!�

The raspy-voiced Death Eater’s Killing Curse whooshes menacingly past William’s ear. He seizes the wand in both hands and waves it in a long, slashing movement. There is a slice of bright white light, and a huge gash tears across the man’s chest, splashing the floor with deep crimson blood that is promptly consumed by the shadows. As if in slow-motion, the raspy-voiced Death Eater falls to the ground without uttering a sound, dead.

William vanishes the manacles binding his hands together with the wand, and with it he forces open the door of the execution chamber. He runs down the dark hallway, the blue candle flames mere blurs as he rushes past. There is the sound of an extra pair of sprinting feet: the bleeding, cruel-voiced Death Eater is giving chase.

But fortune favours William. The green Killing Curses fly by harmlessly and instead pulverise the walls, floors, and ceilings. He rushes down hallways and stairs, and upon reaching a lift, he rushes inside. William punches the buttons, and the sliding grilles slam shut and the lift rockets downwards, as if it is aware of his desperate urgency.

With the high speed of the lift’s descent, the noise is unbelievable. The lift suddenly jolts to a halt, and its doors slide open. William rushes out, but does a double take and skids on the polished floor. If his prediction is correct, the Death Eater chasing him will appear in the next lift any moment now…

He spies a potted plant in the hallway, and runs over and picks it up. The dial on the wall above one of the lifts slowly turns.

Level Two… Level Three…

William places himself to the side, next to the lift’s doors. The next lift ascends to its position and there is a ding! as the golden grilles slide open. The bloody faced cruel-voiced Death Eater emerges–

CRASH!

He grips the potted plant by the stem and swings it with all his might, and it connects perfectly with the cruel-voiced Death Eater’s already injured face. There is an explosion of clay shards, soil, and more blood than William thinks is possible. The Death Eater plummets to the ground, concussed – probably dead.

“What was that?� William hears. He turns his head to face the source of the voice.

Down the hall with the lifts leading to the Atrium is a man in Death Eater robes: a lone guard on patrol at this time of night. “HEY!� the Death Eater shouts, spotting William and the plastered, mutilated man lying on the floor of the open lift.

William sends a spell at the Death Eater, who leaps aside, just barely avoiding the curse sent his way. He points his wand at his throat and his magnified voice shouts, “Mudblood on the loose in the Atri–�

A spell from William’s stolen wand hits him squarely in the chest, preventing him from finishing his alarm.

Too late. As if materialising out of nowhere, more Death Eaters appear in the hall, drawing their wands. There are half a dozen shouts of “AVADA KEDAVRA!� and the death curses slice through the still air.

William ducks and feels the rush of air as the spells dart over his head. The Death Eaters’ spells smack into the polished panelled walls, the lift grilles, and – amazingly – some of each other. William then runs like a man possessed.

He runs past more flying curses through the golden gates into the Atrium. There is a spurt of fire from what could be a dragon, but he doesn’t take the time to look. William nears one of the many fireplaces along the Atrium wall. “Incendio!� he shouts as he runs, and immediately flames erupt in the closest fireplace. William waves his wand at a pot of Floo Powder nearby and sends the entire thing flying into the fire. Dodging another jet of flames and Killing Curses, he dives into the green flames as he shouts the address of his home.

Warm green flames, spinning, and freedom just within reach…

With a plume of ash, he is jettisoned from his fireplace and comes crashing to the ground. He scrambles upright.

William is greeted by the familiar sight of the inside of his home. There are photographs of his family waving on the wall, a handsome grandfather clock, the warm wooden floor, and cosy furniture. And sitting on the sofa is Antigone.

“Will!� she cries. She leaps from her seat and hugs him passionately. Out of nowhere, little Sammy bounds over to him and squeals, “Daddy!� He squeezes William’s legs, not being tall enough to reach any higher.

Reunited at last, William and Antigone kiss in their loving embrace, just as the clock strikes twelve.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!�

There is a flash of green and a blunt blow on the back of William’s neck.

Darkness.

William’s body slumps to the ground and lies sprawled on the cold, black marble floor. The two Death Eaters pick up his corpse by his bound hands and drag it out of the dark execution chamber.

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The Ending, Explained

In case you didn’t understand the ending, William’s escape and reunion with his family was entirely imagined. He never left the execution chamber, and he was murdered envisioning his rather miraculous escape.

In the text there are several hints that his glorious escape is not real. Notice that some details of William’s escape make little sense, are very unrealistic, or are impossible in reality, but are possible in his desperate imagination. For instance, wands are too long to aim at his own manacled wrists, but he somehow manages to vanish them. Also, the layout of the Ministry of Magic is confused, with incorrectly numbered floors and lifts that go both up and down from the same spot in order to go to the same destination. Furthermore, why can’t any of the Death Eaters hit him, and why would there be a dragon in the Ministry of Magic?

In any case, I hope you liked the story, and I thank you for reading.

Tim the Enchanter