metanoia

Chapter Forty-three

"Short Stack!" James happily squealed as he caught a glimpse of his cousin across the platform at Kings Cross Station with his girlfriend and two of her best friends.

Alex found the owner of the voice through the sea of people and dropped her bags at her feet, yelling back in response, "Jamie!"

Laughing, they both abandoned their bags, leaving them with their friends before running into each other's arms. Their friends watch the scene in confusion. Remus and Sirius collected James' belongings from the ground as Lily and Letti did the same with Alex's. 

"You literally saw her five days ago, Prongs. She left your house for five days, not five years," Remus pointed out, laughing at their adorable reunion.

"Five days too long Rem. Andy is my best friend and she abandoned me for her," James hissed, pointing at his giggling girlfriend before tightly embracing her.

Sirius gasped, feeling betrayed by his best friend claim, "I thought I was your best friend."

"Nope, I am." Alex chuckled, taking her bags from her friends before turning to Remus, "And Rem, you're just jealous of our relationship."

As the group of eight climb onto the train, Alex and James leading the pack, Letti and Lily lean into Remus and Sirius' ears laughing at their identical frowns, "She's not wrong."

James and Alex managed to find an empty compartment and plopped down on the seats, laughing at the story James told her about her absence at the Potter mansion. Not shortly after the others joined them, Alex and James passed out. Her head was resting on her cousin's chest as James had a protective arm wrapped around her. Lily lightly nudged Remus in the ribs to get his attention off his novel, "Look at them. They're so cute."

"Yeah," Remus chuckled, smiling at the blonde smile in her sleep.

Sirius was also looking at the sleeping cousins, having a feeling of growing jealousy about their relationship. Alex confided in James more than anyone else in their friend group, they were more brother and sister than cousins. Letti got up to go find the twins, ruffling the boy's hair, "Stop staring, it's not polite."

Lily chuckled watching the napping cousins stir in their sleep, pulling out a Polaroid camera from Alex's messenger bag. Pointing it at them, she took a picture and watched the film develop. "They'll be thanking me for this one day," She mused, putting the camera back in the bag.

Fabian and Letti were curled up on the couch of their flat, watching Muggle television. Gideon walked out of the bathroom, plopping down on their laps laughing, "When are you two going to get married already? You've been in love with each other since 3rd year."

Lisette's cheeks turned a bright red, hiding her face in the pillow that was sitting beside them. Fabian smirked, taking the pillow out from in front of his girlfriend's face, "When Letti says yes."

"Wait what?" She asked, taken for a loop by his answer.

Fabian chuckled as Gideon slid off their laps, allowing him to get down on one knee, "Lisette Cordelia Lightwood, I will love you until my last breath on this Earth. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Before Lisette could give the love of her life an answer, the door to their flat was blown open and five Death Eaters swarmed into the room. Letti cocked an eyebrow at the one that was unmasked, Antonin Dolohov, "Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to show up to someone's home unannounced without a gift?"

Antonin sneered at the brunette as all five of the Death Eaters drew their wands in unison and pointed them at the trio, "Didn't your mother ever teach you to read the room?"

Letti snorted, drawing her wand as well and training it at Dolohov, "No, my mother's dead. Way to pick at that scab."

"Well, then tell your mum I said hi," Dolohov taunted before he shot a Killing Curse at her.

The other four Death Eaters did the same, the three Gryffindors cast a shield spell and the flashes of green bounced off and came back to their casters. "Why don't you tell her yourself, you arrogant prick," Letti screamed over the various curses that were flying around the small apartment.

After Fabian managed to dodge another Killing Curse, Letti yelled over her shoulder, "Hey Fab. As soon as this is over, you and I are going to get Allie and then we're gonna get married." 

With that Lisette Lightwood was hit square in the chest by a stunning spell, sending her backward into another Death Eater's curse. The last thing Lisette saw was the smug grin her fiancée had when she said she'd marry him.

Fabian and Gideon watched her limp body crash into the floor in horror, both savagely sending curse after curse at their attackers. The brothers were back to back, screaming any and all spells they could think of until they both took their last breaths. Antonin Dolohov and four Death Eaters brutally murdered Fabian and Gideon Prewett and Lisette Lightwood in their own home.

"No!" Alex woke up screaming, still in shock of what she just watched, the images of three of her best friends dead bodies imprinted into her brain.

James jumped up, looking around frantically for the source of the scream until he realized that Alex was responsible for the screaming, "What?! What happened? What's wrong?"

Alex was crying, uncontrollably. She had been crying in her sleep from the moment that Letti's lifeless body started to fall to the ground. She looked at her friends' scared faces, realizing that she made a scene, "Sorry. Nightmare."

"Another one? You just had one yesterday," asked Lily, concerned knowing that Alex never can go back to sleep after her nightmares.

James wiped a tear from his cousin's face, sadly smiling at her, "I thought that you had those handled, Andy."

Alex told him about the recurring dream about his and Lily's death, intentionally leaving out the part where she knew that it was actually going to happen, and of the night she found Letti. He also knew about the random "sleep talking" but she didn't tell him that it was her way of telling everyone what's going to happen in the years to come.

"Yeah. It's okay. It's- they're not a big deal guys. It's just typical stuff. Nightmares happen," she dismisses their concerns, scooting away from James toward Peter.

"Not like that, Al. You were crying in your sleep and you woke up screaming, it clearly was bad," Remus countered, knowing that she was hiding the severity of her nightmare.

"Was it like the one you had about James and Lily?" Sirius quietly asked, surprising Peter, Remus and Lily with the question, none of whom knew the details of her nightmares.

The blonde silently nodded, looking down at her lap feeling the tears that began to pool in her eyes. Sirius moved from his seat, kneeling down in front of her to meet her tear filled blue eyes, "Lex, you know I'm here if you want to talk about it. Or... if you just want someone to sit with you after one of your nightmares, just come to me okay? I'll always be here for you."

Alex nodded, hugging Sirius tightly, grateful that she hasn't seen how he was going to die. 

Yet.

"Anything from the Trolley dears?"

James smiled at his cousin, knowing that a couple of chocolate frogs would lift her spirits, and pulled a pocket full of Galleons out, "We'll take the lot."