𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇...

Song:
Paper Rings (Taylor Swift)
"When you jumped in first, I went in too. I'm with you even if it makes me blue."

AUGUST 1981

Thinking back to the past few months, it felt as if the war had escalated into an unprecedented disaster.

The Prewett twins had been killed in a mission, when they went up against a dozen Death Eaters alone.

Marlene McKinnon was brutally murdered with her entire family in a targeted attack in her parents' house.

Dorcas Meadows was captured a few weeks after Marlene's death, and she had been asked whether she would betray the Order. After hours of trying to break her spirit, Voldemort himself had killed her.

The Longbottoms were in hiding, and much to Callisto's fear, so were the Potters.

The prophecy they had managed to get from the Carrows took months to decode, but it all became evident when Lily Potter refused the Death Eaters for the third time, her husband following in her footsteps a month later. The Longbottoms had been approached thrice as well, but hadn't given in either. Both families, with a baby that had barely reached a year old, had denied him three times before even reaching 25 years old.

Callisto didn't understand why Harry, or Neville could be a threat to Voldemort, but understanding the situation wouldn't help anyway. Both families were sent into hiding, their house protected by the Fidelius Charm.

As if that wasn't horrid enough, fear was rising in the Order's rank. Talk of a traitor had made everyone wary of people they used to lean on before. It came as no surprise to her when people pointed their finger at her, and demanded she get interrogated.

Remus had wreaked havoc at the accusation, but he couldn't stop Moody from administering her a heavy dose of Veritaserum as she was interrogated in front of everyone.

The verdict? Not guilty.

Yet, nobody had come up to her to apologise for accusing her, because everyone thought she had managed to overcome the potion's influence.

So, they decided to use Legilimency on her.

Remus had threatened to leave the Order all together at the sound of that, and he would have done it if she hadn't agreed with having her head searched in front of everyone, her memories projected for everyone to pick apart. Lily and James had written her letters, saying the assumptions were absurd, and Sirius was being a pain in everyone's ass in her defence. Yet, she had sat down on the stool, Moody's wand pointing at her head. He hadn't had the time to utter the spell when she raised her hand, stopping him.

"I told you once that if you ever use that spell on me again, I would personally deliver your head to them." She had said, silence falling in the room. "And I really don't want to do that, but if you proceed with that spell right now, you should start looking for another potioneer, and another auror."