/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

𝟐𝟕 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬

There was no funeral for the McKinnon family. It would be too high a risk. That many wizards gathered in one place would be sure to draw unwanted attention. Instead, Marlene, her parents, and her brothers were all buried in their family's cemetery plot, and witches and wizards were allowed to visit only at designated times, and only when nobody else was there.

Sirius and Artemis couldn't bring themselves to visit the grave of their best friend. They thought about it every day, but couldn't do it. It was too much. Instead, they went to Remus's apartment. It became a weekly occurrence, sitting on the floor of his living room, usually in depressed silence. It wasn't the same without Marlene. They were used to her showing up at random times with some wild story to tell, her eyes gleaming with excitement and mischief.

Artemis leaned against the foot of the couch, her knees pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "I wish Lily and James were here," she said softly.

The Potters had been under tight lockdown since Marlene's death. They weren't even allowed large groups of visitors at their house anymore. Artemis hated it. She was sick of hearing about prophecies, murders, and disappearances. She wanted good news, but was growing more and more helpless by the day.

"I wish Marlene was here," said Remus.

The room felt, if possible, colder all of a sudden. Artemis pressed her forehead to her knees. "Me too."

"Me too," Sirius said softly. "Remember when she got shitfaced on New Years' Eve that one year and apparated so badly she broke her wrist?"

Remus let out a rare chuckle. "Yeah, right where Art's sitting."

Artemis remembered the night well. "Yeah, and when Lily tried to mend it, she said she wanted to live with the pain for awhile because it would build character."

"She was crazy," said Sirius.

"Batshit insane," said Remus.

"I want her back," said Artemis.

Remus nodded slowly. "Remember back at school, when she made a bet with James that she could pull more girls in one night than he could?"

Artemis laughed. "And absolutely swept the floor with him because he got too flustered trying to explain the bet to Lily?"

Reminiscing was also a common theme when the three of them got together. There were too many good stories involving Marlene to count. Most of them were too painful to think about.

Artemis was about to start crying, something else that happened every time Marlene came up in conversation, but then there was a pop outside the door and Mary let herself into the apartment.

She looked dead on her feet. She made her way over to her three friends huddled on the living room floor and all but sat in Remus's lap, burying her head in his shoulder. He patted her back comfortingly. "Rough day?"

"Pete won't leave his room," said Mary, not taking her head out of his shoulder. "Moody says Hestia Jones and Dorcas were taken hostage."

Artemis stiffened. "Do we know where they are?"

"He's devising a rescue mission as we speak," she said. "And the dark side has... pretty much total control of Ministry at this point."

"Fuck," Sirius breathed.

Mary sat up and cast her miserable gaze on him. "You know what Marly would say?"

"That everything's fucked and we should all run off to Mexico?" said Sirius, repeating something he'd heard Marlene say just weeks before her death.

Mary smiled a small smile. "No, she'd say we should break into the Ministry and start sending hexes flying. Who cares about the consequences?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a Marlene idea," said Artemis. "Mary, have you visited the Potters lately?"

Mary shook her head. "Not since last week. Lily's really torn up right now. Won't stop crying."

"Yeah, she wrote me a letter that said that," said Sirius. "And James sends his love to everyone."

Artemis frowned and leaned her head on Sirius's shoulder. "I wish we were back at Hogwarts."

"Me too," Mary said softly. "I wish we'd had a normal life after Hogwarts."

"Imagine what that would've been like," said Remus, a small smile playing on his lips. "We would've gotten real jobs, hung out all the time... I dunno. Not have to worry about a near death experience every time we left the house."

"Exactly," said Mary.

Remus sighed. "Guys, none of us are safe anymore."

"Really?" Sirius said sarcastically, winding his fingers through Artemis's hair. "I hadn't noticed."

"I mean, if Marlene can die, any of us can," Remus continued. "She was one of the best fighters we knew."

Artemis frowned at him. "Do you get some sort of enjoyment out of bringing the mood down for everyone around you?"

"No," Remus said, his voice rough. "I'm saying that we have to look out for each other. More than we ever have. I'm not letting the rest of you die too, I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"We knew what we were getting into," said Artemis. "We all signed up for this, we all knew there was a possibility we wouldn't... make it out."

Remus nodded. "Yeah," he said with a deep sigh. "I know. I just miss her."

Artemis thought about Marlene. Instead of thinking about Marlene as a war-torn adult, running from battle to battle with tireless energy, she thought about Marlene as a child. When she and Artemis would fight endlessly in their dorm. She thought about Marlene as a teenager, running through the halls of Hogwarts after hours, her blonde hair streaming out behind her, ready to cause trouble. She thought about Marlene sitting in the alcove of their dorm across from Artemis, lighting cigarettes and talking about all of her latest conquests.

"We miss her too," said Sirius, and held Artemis a little tighter.

Mary pushed her hair out of her eyes and stood up. "I'm going to go home," she said, her voice weary. "I need to try and get some sleep."

Mary had been suffering from nightmares lately. She'd been the one to answer the distress call from the McKinnon's house. She'd been the one to see Marlene, blonde hair caked with blood, staring lifeless up at the ceiling of her childhood home. She hadn't been able to sleep since.

"We'll walk you back," Sirius and Remus said simultaneously.

Mary gave them a soft smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll apparate, and I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" asked Artemis.

Mary kissed her on the cheek, put her jacket on, and headed towards the door. "Of course I'm sure. I'll see you lot at the meeting tomorrow."

Mary stepped outside and took a deep breath. It was only October, but the air was already cold. It felt nice, though. She didn't feel like apparating. She didn't feel like going home just yet. The weather was nice and the street was pretty in the darkness, so she started to walk.

She was never seen again.

i love writing a fic while watching the content for my next fic