~I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories~
*Sarah
McLachlan, I Will Remember You*
"Tell me, wench!"
"No, I can't, I won't," I whimper, sweat dribbling down my forehead.
"As you wish." The tall young man turns on his heel, ready to walk out the door. I know what they will do next. It has gotten that far.
"No, wait!" I call out, determined to sound strong. I know I am about to break, but I have to show pride, even if it is only a bit. I know that I have a small chance at surviving, if only he would turn around!
He stops, and seems to be arguing with himself. Should he turn around and give me a second chance? His orders said to, but he hates me. If he gives me this chance, I might live. He doesn't want that. Then again, if he ignores me, he'll be killed. Slowly, without turning around, he asks me, "Yes?"
I take a deep breath. If I want to survive, I'll have to tell him. I have to tell him everything. "You wanted to know how I know your master… Well… I'm ready to tell. But you see it starts with a different dark lord. Lord Voldemort," a shiver runs through me as I dare to say his name. I have been able to say "Voldemort" for years, ever since he was defeated. But now, in this dark chamber filled with black magic, it feels wrong again. I pull the scratchy blanket closer to me, and continue on.
"When my parents were first married, my mum was already pregnant. My older sister, Emica, was born only six months after they were married. They were so happy when she was born… but then they wanted another child, a playmate for her. Mum easily got pregnant again; the baby was due for May. His name was going to be Sean Alexander… In early April, Death Eaters attacked Mum. She lost little Sean. It took her a few years before she had the courage to try for another child. Three years later, she learned she was pregnant with another girl. The child was due on January 20, 1980. They named her Lavender Rose. As you probably know, that girl was me. Was me. She died, not long ago. But I'll get to that later. What you need to know lies beneath all that…"
"Cut the crap, Lavender. You know what I want to know. You'll have to tell me soon. Unless, of course, you've changed your mind. For all I know, you might have decided to die. In that case, I'll just…"
"No!" I cry. I have to stall more. If I tell him what he needs to know, he'll kill me. I have to come up with a plan. I began my story, "You see, when I was born, Voldemort was still around…
***
"Alex, what if he finds out again? You know what will happen? He can't get her after birth… but until then… oh!" Aubrey Powell sobbed. Just minutes ago, she had found out that she was pregnant again. The last time Voldemort had tried to kill her unborn child, he had succeeded. Once again, she would wonder if the child inside her stomach would ever live to see sunlight, grow up to find love…
"Shh, it's okay, Bree. He can't find us. Remember, Albus said we could stay at Hogwarts. And we'll have a charm on us, just like the Potters are going to get. It'll work out, you'll see," Alex tried to comfort his wife, but it was hard since he was scared too. Not so much for the child, but for his wife. If the Dark Lord killed this child, he would get Aubrey too. Alex would die if that happened.
A week later, they moved into Hogwarts. They were put under the Fidelious Charm about five days after that. Four months later, the secret keeper was killed, and they were found.
"Bree, I love you," Alex Powell whispered to his wife. Slowly, he closed his eyes.
"No! Alex, I love you. Don't leave me. I can't take care of Emica by myself. I can't… Alex!" Aubrey's cry lasted for only a moment. Alex's chest rose and fell, rose and fell. His breathing became slower and rhythmic. Aubrey sighed in relief, thinking that he would live. After all, they had escaped, hadn't they? The Dark Lord himself hadn't come for them. Instead, he had sent a servant. Luckily, they had stunned him before he killed either, but Alex was hurt. Sitting by his side, Aubrey put his hand on her stomach. There was only a small bump; she was only four months along.
Aubrey closed her eyes, praying for her husband. He was everything to her. Without Alex, she wouldn't have Emica. She wouldn't have her life. She wouldn't be her. A tear slowly fell down her cheek. Aubrey gave up trying to hold them back. Silently, Aubrey cried and lost herself in the past.
Aubrey didn't notice that Alex's hand had grown cold until she calmed down enough to open her eyes. The first thing she noticed was how cold his hand was on her bare stomach. Then she noticed his chest was no longer moving.
"No, God! Please, no. Don't be real! He can't be, he's not dead! It's not really Alex, no. Please!" Aubrey broke down, banging her hands on Alex. Tears streamed freely down her face.
Albus Dumbledore looked on. He had seen Alex's last moments. Alex had opened his eyes, looked at his wife. He had mouthed the words "I love you, Aubrey Somers Powell," looked longingly at his hand on Aubrey's stomach, and closed his eyes. It was not five seconds after that Alex's chest ceased rising.
Albus stood quietly, letting Aubrey grieve. Until she was in danger of hurting herself or the child, he would not interfere. If she did not get this out of her system, she could hurt the baby or herself even more. It was important the baby live. Not necessarily for anyone else, but for Aubrey to get over this, the child would need to be born.
Aubrey and Albus stood under a black umbrella. They were both weeping silently. Some things are just so ironic, Aubrey thought. It's such a beautiful day, and yet such a terrible event. Decked in black, Aubrey cried as she was beckoned forward.
"Alex Sean Powell, my husband. The past days have been the hardest of my life. It's worse than when my parents died. Worse than when I was attacked. After all, Alex was there then. I still can't believe he's gone. I know he isn't. Sometimes, I feel the brush of his lips on my forehead. I feel his hand on my stomach. I know he's here, right now. He won't leave me. For the past few days, all I've been hearing is that Alex was such a loving father, a loyal friend. I've heard about how he was a great student, how he was well mannered. But nobody is remembering the real Alex Powell. Alex was loving, loyal, smart, and mannerly, yes, but he was more than that. He was my love. My only love. Without him, I'm nothing. If not for this unborn child…" Aubrey put her hand on her stomach, comforting herself. She took a deep breath and continued.
"If not for this unborn child, I don't know what I'd do. As it is, I only know one thing I can do. I'm going to prove that Alex did one foolish thing in his life, no matter how happy it made me. He married me. I still wonder why I was blessed to have him in my life. Still, I wonder why love was so good to me. And now, I know what I'm going to do. I have to. I can't live without Alex. I won't. Why bother? Life is nothing to me now. Tell Emmy I love her. Take care of her, Albus. Tell her that Mommy went on vacation. Tell her she may see me again… but she may not. Tell her I said good bye." With tears running down her face, Aubrey turned and ran. She slipped on the overturned dirt and quickly got up again. Once she was far away, she apparated away.
***~***
I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one
I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
I'm so tired but I can't sleep
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep
It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard
But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light
And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Weep not for the memories
***~***
"…And they lived happily ever after," Aubrey Brown finished, like always. Lavender, though eleven, still enjoyed hearing about her mother's days in Hogwarts. Aubrey pulled the covers up to Lavender's chin and kissed her good night. Reaching over, Aubrey turned out the light and walked to the door. Aubrey paused at the door and looked at her daughter. Lavender was so little like her father. She didn't look like him either. But still, she reminded Aubrey of her husband. Lavender was eleven; she would get her letter soon, maybe tomorrow. That is, if Lavender was lucky. No one had found them. Surely, Hogwarts would be able to find Lavender with the letter. Surely. Aubrey didn't want to ruin her daughter's chance at getting in, but she wouldn't face her world if she didn't need to. For Lavender she would, but not if they didn't find her first. She wouldn't go looking for trouble.
The next morning at breakfast, Aubrey asked Lavender to get the post. Lavender came back in with her nose buried in a letter.
"Mum! I got in! I got in! Can you believe it?" Lavender's first reaction to everything remotely exciting was to laugh and giggle. Her second reaction was to talk. Currently, Lavender was doing both. She waved the envelope in front of Aubrey, nearly in hysterics. Her mass of curly blond hair was bouncing around, getting in her eyes.
"Lav, could I see that for a minute?" Aubrey gently removed the envelope from her daughter's hands. Aubrey was nearly as excited as her daughter. Her hands quivered as she opened the envelope. Aubrey smoothed out the letter, and read it to herself, then aloud. Lavender squealed.
"Oh! We can go get robes and equipment and new clothes," Lavender rushed off to her room, listing all the things she just had to buy. Aubrey shook her head, smiling. She remembered when she had just gotten her own letter. Then, Aubrey remembered that this meant facing all her old friends. And possibly Emmy. Oh, God.
