Not my absolute best story, but it's not too bad. DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, much as I'd love to.
"The McKinnons are dead" James said quietly, showing his wife and friends the front page of the Daily Prophet.
Peter paled. "Dead?"
Lily gasped. "What?" Her green eyes filled with tears. "All of them?"
Remus looked half-sad and half-grim as he said "When did this happen?"
"Last Monday" James murmured, putting an arm around Lily.
"Last Monday? Oh Merlin" Lily sobbed. "I was planning to go visit Marlene on Friday! Oh, Marlene...I can't believe it! First Benjy Fenwick, then Dorcas Meadowes...and now Marlene and her family! It isn't fair!"
"I know, I know" James whispered, stroking her hair.
"What's happened?" Sirius asked, strolling into the living room. He had just returned from visiting his cousin Andromeda, her husband Ted and her daughter Nymphadora.
"Marlene and her family are...dead" James replied. He ran his hands through his hair, as he always did when he was upset or anxious.
Sirius sank slowly into an armchair next to James, all appearance of casualness gone. "Let me see" he said, holding out a hand for the newspaper.
Tears were running down Lily's cheeks. "Oh Sirius, I'm so sorry."
Sirius did not reply. He was staring at a black-and-white photograph of the McKinnons – there was Marlene at the front, smiling and waving at the camera, and next to her stood Mrs McKinnon, Marlene's mother, one arm around the daughter she so resembled, and on Marlene's other side stood Mr McKinnon, smiling fondly at his daughter, and slightly behind Mr McKinnon stood Marlene's uncle, her father's brother. Standing next to Mrs McKinnon were Marlene's two older brothers and the eldest's wife Charlotte. The picture, the caption said, had been taken just a few weeks prior to the murder. And right at the bottom of the article were the words "Amongst other suspects, the most likely is Bellatrix Lestrange, a dangerous criminal who–" Sirius stopped reading. His hands were shaking with anger. "My cousin killed Marlene? MY COUSIN?" he shouted, tearing the article out of the newspaper and screwing it up viciously. "Just wait 'till I lay my hands on that evil little—"
He got up and started pacing around the room, fury and despair written in his face. "Why? Why did it have to be Marlene? WHY?"
"Sirius, sit down" Remus said soothingly, reaching out, taking Sirius by the arm and gently pushing him back into the chair.
"Um – excuse me" Peter said, and ran from the room.
Lily and the others stared after him.
"Where's he going?" James demanded to know.
"He's probably just upset" Lily said, wiping away her tears. "James, come with me and let's put Harry to bed."
Harry, who had been watching them in confusion and anxiety, now gurgled happily as Lily picked him up and carried him upstairs.
Sirius walked slowly to the guest bedroom, his mind whirling. Rage, confusion, despair and sadness battled in his head and heart. He just could not believe it. His Marley, his friend ever since he started at Hogwarts, and his girlfriend of two Hogwarts years (sixth year and seventh year) and girlfriend of his post-Hogwarts years, was dead. Dead. Marlene McKinnon, who only a few weeks ago he had seen so full of life, love and laughter. Marlene, the girl who had meant so much more to him than any other girlfriend he had had before her. Marlene, the woman who could make even the darkest days seem bright and beautiful. Marlene...that little, clever bright-eyed girl with curly blonde hair and those soft lips he had kissed so often. It was inconceivable. How could she be dead? It had seemed impossible to him that anyone could take away that happiness that shone in her eyes, that steady, reassuring heartbeat, and that calm and gentle voice. It was surely a mistake. Nobody could kill Marlene, not even his maniacal cousin Bellatrix. And yet there it had been, in big black letters, at the top of the page: "MCKINNONS FOUND DEAD IN HOME. KILLERS AS YET UNKNOWN."
He flopped onto the bed, but did not sleep. He didn't feel tired. He lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw that face. Her face. Marlene's eyes, her laughing eyes. Her sweet smile. Her cute little nose. Her kissable lips. Marlene. Her name sounded like honey and flowers, butterflies and beauty. Her name was strength and joy, calmness and trust, kindness and faith, intelligence and wit. His wonderful Marlene. He closed his eyes, and the image of his joyful and magical Marlene swam before him in his mind. He imagined her voice. It was gentle and soothing, and her voice alone had always had the power of reducing even he himself to silence. One simple word could make him her slave for life. He imagined that he felt her warm embrace, and his heart, heavy with sadness, lifted and beat faster, as it often did whenever he saw her. Marlene...he would never see her again. Never. Gone were the days when they fooled around by the lake in the Hogwarts grounds, or sneaked into empty classrooms to kiss passionately, or raced each other to the Great Hall, or visited the Three Broomsticks together. Gone were the days and years after Hogwarts, when they visited each other and kissed under the mistletoe at Christmas. Soon she would become nothing but a shadow of the past, a vague memory he'd struggle to picture clearly. So young, too...only twenty-six years old. And it was her twenty-seventh birthday soon. He'd been saving up to buy her a Christmas present! And he'd been planning to propose to her...he should've proposed sooner. He cursed Bellatrix and her bastard of a husband, and all their evil Death Eater friends. They had stolen his Marley from him, and they would pay. Oh yes, they would pay.
Well? How did I do? I thought some of the characters were a bit OOC, but what do YOU think? PLEASE REVIEW!