The Potter Twins and the Order of the Phoenix {5}

Epilogue: Fortune's Fool

O, I AM FORTUNE'S FOOL

- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

The loss of Taylor Saunters weighed heavy in Theresa Jensen's heart. The devastation she felt was evident to all, as was to be expected, and she shared in this grief with her closest friends. But her deep-rooted was guilt was not as easily expressed. She knew that the Potter Twins blamed themselves; she could practically feel it radiating off of them. And perhaps their guilt was necessary. They had Taylor into the Department of Mysteries, after all, a place infested with Death Eaters and other horrible things. But Tessa wasn't there, she wouldn't dare make such an assessment -- such a judgment of her friends. It was her guilt that mattered, possibly the only guilt that was undoubtedly well deserved. It was driving her to near insanity, keeping her up throughout the night even as Riley held her close. For every time she closed her eyes she saw it again, the vision she had once so carelessly overlooked. 

Tessa never claimed to be a terrific Seer, in fact, her 'visions' had always been mediocre, boring, to say the least. But that had changed dramatically during OWL week. She had blamed it on stress, tried her hardest to forget the haunting things she had seen. Until Harry and Haylee Potter returned from the Department of Mysteries with one missing person. And Riley told her what had happened in the depths of the Death Chamber. 

Bellatrix had cried "Diffindo!" creating a deep slash across Taylor's throat. Blood stained hands, splattered shirts, the screams of a desperate father...dead. 

What she had seen had in her dreams had come to pass. And she did absolutely nothing to stop it. It was painful to watch Harry and Haylee blame themselves, to watch Riley cry as he spoke to the masses, recalling their fondest memories of a girl taken too soon. Could she have prevented it? Could she have saved the life of her best friend, prevented the suffering of so many? Perhaps she would never know the answer, but the guilt seeped into her bloodstream nonetheless.

She took a shaky breath as she pulled a black sweater over her tall frame, her hair - now it's natural blonde colour at her mother's request - becoming frizzy from the static. The thick, ribbed sweater hid many of her new-found insecurities; if she pulled the sleeves down over her hands it hit her nails, now chewed down nervously; the thick material hid the way her shoulders trembled when she breathed, a sign of the fear she would surely be reprimanded for; but it was the sleeves which covered her biggest flaw; the skull and snake tattoo burned into her forearm. The mark of the Death Eaters. 

It happened two weeks into the holidays; when Draco and Theresa came together in the Malfoy Manor to have their bodies permanently disfigured by the Dark Lord himself, to have their morals corrupted, and their lives changed forever. Haylee was playing on Draco's mind the entire morning, of how she had once referred to them as 'star-crossed lovers'. He never quite understood what that meant, but he seemed to see it in a new light now. They would be on opposite sides, and he would perhaps murder one of the men she admired the most. The stars had defied them, fate had tricked them into thinking they would be safe. But it was all for nought. It was terrifying, to say the least. Would he have the strength to duel her if they came face-to-face, or perhaps duel her father, or godfather? But he was getting ahead of himself, for Haylee still trusted him, still loved him. She had once said that their fifth year was the worst year of her life, but their sixth was looking much better in his eyes. 

Tessa thought of Riley, also, of what would happen to them when everything finally came crashing down. They were in similar positions, Tessa and Draco (though Draco's forbidden love held much higher stakes than hers), and she would find solace in that during the coming months when the inevitable time came when she could rely on no one else. Regardless of what the future held for her and Riley and for Draco and Haylee, Theresa Jensen knew one thing to be true. She would never overlook a vision ever again - she was, perhaps, a true Seer now. But she could never predict what horrors her visions would soon bring, and the tragedy that would follow as a result. They were all fools, controlled by fortune and fate, and with the wizarding community now in open war, the stakes were never higher. Cedric and Taylor would forever be remembered as the first martyrs of the Second Wizarding War, but they would certainly not be the last. 

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The Order of the Phoenix is finally finished!!! Quite ominously, if I do say so myself. As always, I'll let you all know when the first part of the Half-Blood Prince is up, which should hopefully be in the not so distant future and thank you all so much for reading! 

Please remember to vote/comment/follow if you enjoyed and I'll see you all soon in the Half-Blood Prince.