Constant Vigilance

1. Prologue

Alastor Moody rushed home as quickly as possible, the moment he heard from one of his contacts that the dark mark had been spotted above his house.
He knew that people in the Order of the Phoenix were dying and disappearing every single day.
But he had hoped that since his wife was not in the Order, she would be safe.
However, this foolish optimism would cost him everything.

When he arrived home, he found his front door hanging off by its hinges, which he didn't think was a good sign.
He immediately headed upstairs towards the nursery, praying that his worst fears would not come true.
With the nursery door hanging wide open, Alastor could already see inside, and what he saw broke his heart.

Alastor's wife Claudia was lying still on the floor, in a pool of her own blood. Her unmoving eyes fixed on a spot on the wall.
Knowing she was already gone, Alastor charged into the room, and flipped over the upside down cot, which was beside his wife's body.
A cry of anguish exploded from his throat when he saw his daughter's body lying on the ground, one side of her face nothing but a mass of blood.
His daughter Alexandra was only a few years old.
She was too young to die.

Alastor picked up his daughter's body, and felt confused at how she felt.
Her body was still warm, and he could still feel a heartbeat beneath her skin.
He looked closer at her face, which is when he saw her lip quiver and her eyelids blink.
"Alex?" He murmered.
"Papa" whispered the girl, who was no longer playing dead.
She reached out her arms, and Alastor brought her close to his chest, his heart filled with relief.
In a moment of fear, Alexandra had played dead, to stop the death eaters from finishing her off. And it had saved her life.

Alastor Moody swore to himself in that moment, that he would never let his daughter come so close to dying ever again.
He would protect her from all future threats, and ensure that she knew how to defend herself against anything and everything.
His daughter would never let her guard down, and never become a victim again.
He would teach her his life motto, which would keep her alive; constant vigilance.