Watching Over Our Nation

Chapter 9: Fighting over the dead

Marlene's POV:

I wanna kill myself.

Seriously, watching Peter go to my fucking funeral, being comforted by my friends?! Disgusting! I hate him so much right now, I don't even vaguely remember why I needed to protect him so badly.

"Mary still thinks he's her best friend!" I want to throw the mirror to the ground, smash it to pieces, but I can't do that. The others want to watch what's happening.

"Poor Dorcas," Benjy comments sadly as we watch her being utterly broken. I wanna go to her, tell her it's okay, that she'll see me again one day, be there for her. It breaks me to see my girl in so much pain.

"Also, putting a bet on you surviving was about the dumbest thing ever," Regulus says way too emotionless for the situation. Just so Regulus-like, I guess.

"Why not? I am offended!"

"You're like, the most reckless person I know other than Sirius."

I can't argue with that, I suppose. No one can. I snort and shove him lightly. "Jerk."

He flinches at the touch is the first thing I notice. He stills as soon as the realisation dawns on me. "Oh no, Regulus..."

"What?" Benjy doesn't understand, but I do. I've had lots of conversations with Sirius, seen the sigarette burns, the scars. I know about the Pureblood maniacs and their ways of raising their heirs.

"He left," I continue, but Regulus does not react, he stands frozen. He's refusing to look at me. "And they moved on to you..."

Truth be told, I never really understood Regulus Black or why Dorcas was friends with him. I always found him to be dark, like his family. Sirius cared about him, but also said he was following in their footsteps.

Now that I know he changed, it strikes me how I misjudged him. How we all did. And that he's been through way more shit than I could have imagined.

"I'm-"

"Save your apologies, McKinnon."

"Oy, what's Potter doing?" Regulus and I both look up at Gideon's question. But he's not necessarily asking us: he's just looking at the mirror, at my funeral.

"What's he doing?" I ask them, but once I can see, I realise it's not James they are talking about.

It's Lily. I feel Regulus tense beside me.

She's taking Mary apart from the group. Mary and Lily fought about how Lily decid- ed to join the Order. Mary didn't and she tried to talk Lily out of it too. Which of course, backfired into them not being on speaking terms now.

She tried to tell me the same, but I refused to listen too. I however, did not fight with her. She had a hard time as it was, with all her friends on the line of dying.

She lost a few of us in her fight with Lily too: Remus, who took Lily's side, or well, didn't, but that's what Mary thought. I myself had to convince her we were still friends, even with all that happened with Lily.

"Mary, stop this," Lily cuts to the chase. Just like she always does.

"Stop what Lily?" Mary's face is unreadable, but with Mary, I know that means she is broken. Mary, my best friend.

"You know exactly what I want you to stop, Mary," Lily is heating up and I can only prey she doesn't explode. With her temper, that isn't a given. "I know you're angry with me. I accept that you don't want to see me and that you don't talk to me. Fine. But ignoring Sirius? What did he ever do to you?"