Serenity | 1

THIRTY NINE

"Family Reunion"

June 1975,  6 months later

Diagon Alley was winding down for the night when Christian apparated outside the Leaky Cauldron. He glanced around at the wizards and witches around him, recognising the familiar tired faces of some of his colleagues and other young, newly graduated wizards with no worries about Hogwarts anymore.

There was so much more to worry about now.

Allowing himself into the pub, he ordered a firewhiskey. His stomach was twisting and turning every which way as he waited for his company, his eyes couldn't help but roam the forearms of each individual wearing long-sleeved robes. For all he knew he could be surrounded by enemies. The image of the dark mark slithering over Serenity's arm haunted his every movement, he knew he had failed her and had no doubt Lakita had joined them too.

As he drank his firewhiskey, Lucia apparated beside him and took a seat beside him, declining the bartender's offer of a drink.

"I got your owl." She crosses her arms on the counter in front of her, not looking at her brother. "I don't know what you want me to do, Chris. We can't fight this alone. Not with mum and dad missing and Irene taking Erin to Merlin knows where." She looks over at him with sad eyes. "Our family is in shambles. We're no longer respected anymore and you know this." Christian nods and proceeds to finish his drink. Without a glass to occupy his agitated hands, he can only clench his fists and take deep breaths.

"We can't just let this madman take control of who we love." She wraps her hands around his.

"We can only fight for ourselves now. Our Grandfather is dead, Chris, and he was the reason we remained as strong as we were. Out of fear, yes, but together we stood a chance. With him gone, mum and dad left us. Irene took Erin away against her will. Dara is sure to force the boys into recruitment and your own daughters were cast out. We're on our own with no one to help us anymore."

"I need my daughters back, Lucy, all of them. I can only do that by putting an end to his dark magic." His voice drops an octave. "He calls himself Lord Voldemort. He is nothing more than a boy with a wand, together we have two wands and wandless magic. We can defeat him."

With a disbelieving shake of her head, Lucia pulls him closer with a fire in her eyes.

"You are speaking of murder and I will not stand for it, understand?" She stood, leaving no room for him to respond, and left the pub. Walking down Diagon Alley, Lucia hugged herself and waited for him to inevitably run after her. She senses him walking up behind her and shakes her head. "You must understand that if you were to 'stop' him, you won't get your daughters back. Merritt will be left only with Hayley, myself and Dexter. She needs her dad. The twins will remain with their mother and you will end up in Azkaban for mur-" when she finally turned around she came face to face with a hooded figure wearing a silver skull-faced mask. "-der." The stranger raised their wand and a ball of green magic shot towards her. Dodging sideways, the spell moves past her face, and she watches as it aims towards a familiar figure. She watches wide-eyed as the spell heads for her son, who is quick to raise his hand and make the spell backfire.

As the magic passes by her once again, Lucia watches as the aggressor knocks the spell away and moves to fire back at Dexter before falling to the ground in a flash of white. Christian jogs up from behind them towards his sister as his nephew mirrors his actions. Within seconds of the three reuniting a group of death eaters apparated around them.

Passersby shrunk into the background as dark clouds shrouded the once blue sky. Christian drew his wand along with Dexter, the wandmaker's assistant at Ollivander's, who pressed his back against his uncle as the three of them prepared themselves for an inevitable battle.

Lucia was the first to shoot. A ball of white magic shot from her hand and soon she was fighting back and forth with two death eaters- spells left and repelled from her hands as she had no time to dig her wand from the depths of her cloak. Dexter was suddenly forced into a battle against a masked death eater in front of him. It was clear that the aggressor was older and more experienced than him, and he found himself utilising wandless magic with one hand and his wand.

Christian, having disarmed the bumbling death eater in front of him, stupefied one of four. Now facing three opponents, he was heavy on his offence. Batting away spells and bouncing them back. One of his opponents was hit by their own spell, leaving Christian with two aggressors.

Dexter incarcerated his opponent and swiftly spun to stupefy one of his uncle's opponents. The lone death eater now found himself with the odds turned. The two of them volleyed against the death eater, who held their own better than any of their friends. Lucia's grunt from behind them paused the fighting. Christian saw a flash of green from the corner of his eye and turned to see his sister fall into him.

Dexter, holding his wand and arm out towards the remaining three death eaters around them, also stepped back to see the events play out. Kneeling slowly with his sister in his arms, Christian dropped the wands and cradled Lucia close. Her eyes were wide and already lifeless.

Dexter, in the calm of the moment, abandoned his defensive post and fell down beside his mother.

"Mum!" Around them, the death eaters were finding their consciousness and surrounding the remaining Riers who had yet to taint their family name. He tapped her face and pulled her away from his Uncle. "Mum, wake up. You always wake up. Come on!" Bending over her face, he rocked and cried. "Not you too."

Christian glanced around. They were surrounded now. Bowing his head and accepting whatever it was that was to come, he figured that now was as good a time as any. There was no getting his daughters back; no getting his sisters back; his parents had abandoned them. There was no better place for him to die than beside his family.

As his arms wrapped around his nephew and sister, Christian felt a weight lift from his shoulders and closed his eyes.

Death did not come.

Multiple pops sounded and spells were yelled. A series of thuds followed. Wincing and peeking his eyes open, a hand was stuck out in front of his face and the grim look of one of his squad members welcoming him back to a world absent from death eaters- aside from the unconscious ones being apparated away by the second.