metanoia

Chapter Seventy-three

"I got to say, I'm flattered," Dorcas dryly laughs, struggling against the ropes that bound her wrists behind her back as she looked up from the end of the wand that was trained on her head at its owner.

Lord Voldemort stared down at the bloody and broken member of the Order of the Phoenix, moving a stray curl from her forehead to meet her dark, fiery eyes, "And why might you be flattered?"

"I've clearly pissed you off enough that you felt the need to come down here and kill me yourself rather than sending in more of your lackeys to go down in the process of taking us down," she spat, aiming her mouthful of blood at the Dark Lord's bare feet.

The snake-like man couldn't help but laugh, confusing the hostages that knelt before him on the cold tile floor, "Oh foolish girl, I'm not here for you. I'm here for her and you are just collateral damage to getting to her."

"What?! No, you leave her alone!"

Voldemort raised his wand, snapping his arm at the Hufflepuff with the speed and accuracy of a viper, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

"Oh God, make it stop!" Alex screamed, snapping herself out of her nightmare daydream only to remember that she was at the Hufflepuff versus Slytherin Quidditch match but she didn't remember how she got there.

Remus frantically sat down on the bench beside her, not knowing what to do to console her as her screaming caught the attention of many of their friends and classmates around them, "What? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Dorcas-"

Marlene whipped her head around, taking her eyes off the Match at the sound of her girlfriend's name, "What? What about Dorcas?"

Alex opened her mouth but it was dry and the words failed her, leaving her staring at her roommate with her mouth agape and unable to explain that she just saw Dorcas Meadows' murder by the hand of Lord Voldemort.

James, realizing what the problem might be, waved a dismissive hand at Marlene, throwing his arm across her shoulder as he corrected her stance to watch her girlfriend block a shot Antonin Dolohov took on her as he sent a concerned look toward his cousin, "She daydreams, we all know that. Don't worry too much about it, it's not like they're real. Now, let's cheer on Dor."

"What did you see?"

Alex looked up through her lashes at the only one of them that was still paying any attention to her, watching Regulus and Amos race each other to the Snitch over Remus' shoulder, "Dorcas, she dies. He kills her."

Remus didn't know what he could say or do that would make her feel better, or even what he should say in response to her newfound nightmare about the death of Dorcas Meadows. He held her hand in his, trying to silently comfort her as they watched the Quidditch Match. The players adorned in yellow and green circled the Pitch, passing the Quaffle back and forth as they took turns scoring against each other. Hufflepuff held the lead for nearly thirty minutes, starting with Nicolette Finch scoring three times in a row then Benji Fenwick and Macmillan maintaining the lead. The Slytherin team, try as they might, were struggling to keep the Hufflepuff team from out doing them.

Benji caught the Quaffle that Dorcas pitched out to him, laughing as he weaved in and out of the Slytherin team to near the Keeper's Hoops. The long haired Muggleborn smiled as he flew side by side with Eddie Bones. Patrick Parkinson tightly gripped his Beater's bat, crushing the Bludger as he sent it in the direction of the Hufflepuff Chaser.

"If only I were a Muggle, then I could be home right now with my sisters. And we could be watching Disney movies, I could be teaching Josie how to skate, and I could be with my mom," Benji sighed, talking to himself as he made himself another cup of coffee. He sat on the rooftop of one of his safe houses, watching an airplane fly overhead. "I miss my mom. I miss Josie and Katie and Mary. Why did I have to be the special one?"

Caradoc Dearborn, his mission partner, sat down beside him, his feet hanging over the side of the building, "I miss going to the cinema. And being able to trust people."

"I never trusted people, but I understand what you mean. This whole mess, the War, everything just makes it hard to ever trust anyone ever again because we Muggleborns have spent the past nine years living in fear and how are we supposed to live after it's all done?"

A pop cracked through the air around them, filling their ears with what they assumed were their fellow members of the Order to relieve them from the specific mission they were on so they could go back to Headquarters to sleep for a few hours. However, much to their dismay and horror, a group of eight masked Death Eaters surrounded them. The two Muggleborns' first instinct was to stand back to back with their wands drawn.

"Any last words, Mudblood?"

Benji stared at the lifeless, ornate masks on the four standing in front of him and all he could think about was the song Sirius drunkenly sang on Christmas. He broadened his stance, readying himself for what he knew would be the fight of his life, "Won't live as an untold story. Rather go out in a blaze of glory. I can't hear you, I DON'T FEAR YOU!"

"Expelliarmus!" "Avada Kedavra!"

Spells flew everywhere, flashes of vibrant reds and rich greens were casted everywhere. Thankfully for the Muggle World, the Order of the Phoenix placed wards on the safehouse so no Muggle could see the magic nor could they be affected by the magic that took place there. The two Members of the Order fought furiously, desperately trying to stay alive against the odds that were stacked against them as they managed to take down two of the Death Eaters there to kill them. With a spell no one recognized, Caradoc Dearborn disappeared from the rooftop leaving Benji alone to face five Death Eaters.

"Crucio!" 

Benji screamed in excruciating pain, praying to God that he make it through this long enough to see his family again. He writhed, squirming around on the concrete rooftop as he racked his brain for a way to fight back. While somehow managing to maintain his grip on his wand, he trains it on the two in his line of sight, "Con-confringo maxima."

"Alex?"

Alex's eyes quickly opened, alarmed by the vision of Benji Fenwick blowing himself and Death Eaters up. She couldn't know if he succeeded in fighting for his life, she had no way to know if his amplified  Blasting Curse didn't obliterate himself in the process. She looked up from her hands to find the bleachers completely empty with the exception of James, Sirius, Lisette and Remus looking down at her, the last thing she remembered of the match being Dolohov knocking Benji clean off his broom, "What? What happened? Is Benji okay? Who- who won?"

"Regulus managed to catch the Snitch, they won by 10 points. Benji is fine. Are you okay? You've been out of it all day," asked Sirius, sitting beside the blonde that hasn't moved since they got to the stadium.

"I-I want to go home. I need Noah... I need my mom. I can't do this anymore. I don't want to see these things, I don't want to watch you guys die," the blonde cried, feeling the tears fall down her face before she even realized she was crying.

Lisette sat down, cradling her best friend close to her as she tried to soothe her, "Honey, we are home. Hogwarts is our home, until we graduate at least and then we'll find a new home. And... I know it's hard but they're gone but for now, you have us and we've got you and we'll help you through them. But we're not dying anytime soon, no need to worry about us. I'll have Lily brew a Sleepless Draught so you can get some sleep tonight."

"Please... please just make it stop."