metanoia

Chapter Ninety-Four

"Can you say "mama"? Come on, Addie. Say "mama"," Alex coaxed, smiling at her one year old as she giggled at her latest attempt to get her to talk.

Sirius shook his head at his goddaughter, claiming the attention of the babbling baby, "No. Addie, can you say "Pads"? Pads."

Alex glared at her wild haired best friend, "If you steal my daughter's first word from me, Siri, so help me God I'll kick your ass. Do you understand me?"

"I'm not going to steal your daughter's first word, I already have plans to steal Harry's from James," Sirius laughed, watching his goddaughter crawl away from them toward her toys.

"Mommy, there's people at the door."

Maryanne McKinnon looked up from her frying pan, looking around the corner to see her eight year old standing at the front door, "Okay, Morgan, don't let them in. Mommy needs to know who it is. Hey, Mac, could you check on that for me?"

"Sure, Mom," Malcom yawned, dragging his hand over his eyes as he trudged from the living room to the front door as his younger brother sprinted past him.

"Bombarda!"

"Death Eaters!" The Second year Ravenclaw of the family of six, Michael, yelped as four masked Death Eaters broke into their home, moments before being hit square in the chest with a red curse.

Marlene watched her little brother fall to the ground in horror, screaming over all the spells being cast in the house so her mom could hear her, "Mom, get the kids out of here-"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Marlene watched as her mother and her two little brothers died at the hands of Death Eaters, momentarily frozen in grief until she heard a voice she recognized, "I've got her."

"Peter?!"

The three Death Eaters with Peter left the house, stepping over the fallen bodies and debris of the interior, leaving Peter and Marlene alone. Peter removed his mask, his eyes welling with tears and shame, "I'm so sorry, Marls. I had no choice."

"There's always a choice!" the blonde screamed, her voice cracking on the final word. "You could have fought, not rolled over and become his little Bitch."

"I am not his Bitch," Pete quietly countered, finding it hard to meet her eye.

"Oh really? Because from where I'm standing, you just killed my entire family because Voldemort told you to."

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling sick at the sight of Marlene's three younger brothers lying dead at their feet, "You don't understand, I have to do this. I had to do this. Or else he'll kill me, my family. I'm sorry, Marlene. I never meant to hurt you or anyone."

"You are a coward, Peter Pettigrew," she spat at him. "And I hope that my friends figure it out before you kill them too."

"Avada-"

"If you're gonna kill me, look at me while you do it," Marlene barked, the fire in her burning stronger when someone she believed to be her friend looked away as he tried to murder her. "I don't FEAR you!"

Sirius lightly grabbed Alex by the shoulder, shaking her from watching Marlene McKinnon's death, "Lex, are you okay?"

"Marlene," she breathes, scared that this vision would be fulfilled in the next few hours. She scrambled to her feet, conjuring her Patronus, "Find Mad-Eye. Tell him to get to the McKinnon Manor immediately."

"Alex?" he continued to call, confused as to what she was going on about. He grabbed her by the wrist, turning her to face him, "Alex, what is going on? Did you see something?"

She nodded grimly, clearing her throat as she pulled her coat on, "I need to get to her immediately. Will you watch Addie until Remus gets home?"

"Of course. But Lex," he called, making her stop before she Apparated to Marlene's family home. He sighed, looking between her and her daughter happily playing in the corner, "Just be careful, okay?"

"I always am."

When she Apparated to the McKinnon home, it was exactly how she saw it in her vision. It was large and yet it was modest, just large enough for the family of six. A hole took the place where the door once was and rubble and debris filled both the inside and the yard surrounding the home.

Alex slowly walked through the front door, stopping at the sight of Malcolm McKinnon, only fifteen years old, Slytherin, and was supposed to be returning to Hogwarts in the Fall for his Fifth year, laying on the floor with the front door partially covering his body. She moved the heavy door off him, feeling tears chase each other down her cheeks.

She spent the next few minutes removing the rubble from the McKinnon family, moving there bodies together in a line. By the time Alex reached Marlene, the only color in her once vibrant personality was in her tattoos. She dropped to her knees, mourning the friend she shared a dormitory with for seven years, the friend she held when telling her that the Dark Lord murdered her, the friend who hexed Severus Snape after he nearly killed her with his homemade curse.

"Worth."

Alex looked up from her friend's lifeless body, sniffling as she turned to face Mad-Eye Moody. She cleared her throat, however a rising sob choked her, "They were just children! Children! How could they be so heartless that they murder three children?"

Mad-Eye slowly exhaled, looking down at the pale body of Marlene McKinnon. He never admitted it to her, but he did enjoy her attempts at trying to get him to smile. He cleared his throat, meeting the blonde's angry eyes, "Worth, were fighting a War. Casualties-"

"Fuck Casualties!" Alex screamed at him, kicking over the large piece of rubble that she'd pulled off the youngest McKinnon. "They were children! What could they have possibly done to deserve that fate?!"

"Calm down, Worth."

She shook his hand off her shoulder, backing away from the Auror, "Don't you tell me to calm down! Children are dying, innocent people are dying!"

"Alex," he firmly hissed, grabbing her by the shoulders. She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed and streaked with tears. He sighed, pulling her closer to him and showing her the first moment of kindness she'd ever received from him. "I know that this can be hard. Losing innocent people, losing kids, friends. But we can't lose our heads. You can either turn it off and face it when this is all over or use it."

"I'm going to kill him," she promised, stepping away from the Auror.

"Riddle?"

She shook her head, straightening herself out, "No, Pettigrew."